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A HISTORY 



i-^'iiS^ 



OF 



ESSAMiNE County, 



KENTUCKY, 



FROM ITS 



EARLIEST SETTLEMENT TO 1898. 



By BENNETT H. YOUNG, 



President Polytkchnic Society ; Member Filson Clib ; Member Constitutioxal 
CoNVENTioN, 1890; Author History of the Constitutions of Ken- 
tucky, OF "Battle of Blue Licks, etc.. etc. 

S. M. DUNCAN, Associate Author. 



"Every brave and good life out of the past" is a treasure -.vhich eannof 
be measured in money, and slioiild be preserved with faithfidlest eare. 



LOUISVILLE, KY.: 
Courier-Journal Job Printing Co. 

lSf)8. 



INDEXED 



1 H^/ 

\ -zj ^ _J ifi 



\,M q (j a & 



TO 

ifUv) Father, ^lahsrt 5lQ«i^9t 

AND 

I DEDICATE THIS VOLUME- 



My father w^as a resident of Jessamine County for sixty-five years. He was 
honest, upright, patriotic, public-spirited, and alw^ays the friend of the poor and 
suffering. My mother God bless her name and memory !— had a heart full of 
human sympathy and tenderness, and also of the love of Christ, whose teachings 
she faithfully followed for sixty years, in the midst of the people of Jessamine. 
Descended from Revolutionary sires, they both ardently loved the freedom of this 
free land w^ith an unquenchable love, and taught their children, as the noblest aim 
of life, to serve God and be true to the glorious liberty their ancestors had so cour- 
ageously fought to w^in. They sleep in the cemetery at Lexington, Ky., and I 
trust they have a kindly remembrance with the people among w^hom they lived 
and died. 



PREFACE. 



Jessamine count}- is one of the few great counties of the state 
whose history remains unwritten. For a long time after its be- 
ginning, it was overshadowed in many ways by Lexington, Dan- 
ville, Paris. Ilarrodsburg, and Winchester. The county had no 
postofifice until 1801. Mails were infrequent and carried by 
hand. Lexington was the great town south of the Ohio and west 
of the Alleghenies. When the county was organized, Lexing- 
ton had a population of nearly 2,000, while Cincinnati had less 
than 500, and was buying its merchandise in Lexington ; which 
was alreadv the seat of a university ; it had churches and schools, 
and was the great trading point for a large part of Kentucky, and 
portion of Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee. 

Brick houses had begun to be erected, and newspapers had 
been published for eleven years, and being only twelve miles 
from Nicholasville, it was inevitable that it should draw to it a 
very large share of the trade of Jessamine. Lexington was then, 
and remained for many years thereafter, the political, intellectual, 
and commercial metropolis of Kentucky, and it necessarily 
dwarfed the surrounding towns and attracted the best trade from 
the counties within a radius of fifty miles. 

Lexington, too. had the first railroad in the west. The linfe 
to Frankfort was finished and operated in December. 1835. and 
by 1 85 1, trains vvere run through from Lotiisville to Lexington. 
In 1854, a train ran from Covington to Lexington, and from 
Lexington to Paris in 1853. These railways diverted the trade 
from the steamboats on the Kentucky river and they made Lex- 
ington a great center. 

The enterprise and courage of her people received a just and 
ample reward. Fayette county and Lexington always exhibited 
great enterprise as well as the highest public spirit, and in com- 
merce as well as education they attained high rank, because they 
had the sagacity and the enterprise to improve the opportunities 
which presented themselves. 

Jessamine county had no railway until 1857. From that time 
Nicholasville assumed a new importance. Long the terminus of 



8 Prefme. 

the Kentuokv Central, there eanie to it both travel and trade, and 
it began to improve. T!ie loss of slaves and the destruction of 
values ; the result of the war of 1861-65, greatly afifected both thts 
town and the count)', but after the period necessary for a recu- 
peration from these troubles, the county and town have developed 
with steady and constant growth, and both are now taking the 
position to which their natural advantages entitle them. 

Jessamine county has never lacked in public spirit. She has 
liberally responded to all calls for public improvement. She 
never repudiated any of her obligations. She always paid what 
she agreed to pay, and her subscription to the Kentucky Central 
Railroad, to the Cincinnati Southern Railroad, to the improve- 
ment of the Kentucky river, and to the Richmond, Xicholasville, 
Irvine and Beattyville line ; is highest evidence of her sagacity 
and generosity, and placed the county in the best possible position 
for the development of all its resources. 

Looking back one hundred years, the people of Jessamine 
can feel a glow of honest ])ride at what a century has accomplish- 
ed. The smallest, except fifteen, of the one hundred and nineteen 
counties in the state, with an area of only 158 square miles, it has 
always maintained a prominent place among the rich and large 
agricultural counties. I-'or its population it is surpassed in 
wealth by only a very few counties, and it ranks as one of the great 
producing counties of Kentucky. Its land, per acre, has always, 
for taxation, been valued at a very high rate. 

In i8_)6 It was the sixth county in value of lands per acre, and 
in 1870, notwithstanding the great cities in other counties, it stood 
ninth ; and still maintains that place. 

Led by the guiding hand of fate to make my home in the 
greatest of all Kentucky's counties. Jefiferson, I have never lost 
my love for Jessamine, and its capital city, Nicholasville ; and 
oftentimes there creeps into my heart a longing to spend the 
evening of life where I first saw the light, and an absence of thir- 
ty-seven years, has neither destroyed nor dimmed my love for 
the people who have always remembered me in my comings to the 
old home place, with such generous hospitality and unchanging 
kindness. 

No one else offering to write a history of the county, I have 
undertaken the task. The work has been done hurriedlv and 



Preface. 9 

wliile under llie pressure of a l)usy professional life; Init it is a 
labor of love, and if the story of the sacritices. courage, and patri- 
otism of our forefathers who settled and organized the county, 
shall be efficient in creating upon the jn-esent and future sons and 
daughters of Jessamine higher love of their ancestors, great de- 
votion to Kentucky, and better apprehension of the cost and value 
of the freedom of our country, I shall l)e more than repaid for the 
labor and cost of producing this volume. It does not contain all 
that a historv of the count}' should include, but it does for the 
first time put in permanent form the leading facts connected with 
the organization of the county and accounts of the men wdio first 
cut down the forests, grubbed the cane brakes and drove out the 
savages who disputed its possession, and it will, at least be a help 
to those who ma}- hereafter desire to write a more extended his- 
tor}' of Jessamine and of its people. 

Mr. S. M. Duncan, of Xicholasville, has for more than forty 
years been gathering notes of the history of the people who have 
lived in Jessamine. He has done more for the preservation of its 
historv than anv one man who ever lived in the county. He has 
generously given me the use of all his facts. I have bv research 
gotten others and verified his, and I have, as is his just due, 
I'tlaced his name upon the title page of this book as associate 
author. Although the preparation and publication was assumed 
bv me, I consider it both a privilege and a duty to thus connect 

]\lr. T3uncan with the first historv of the countv. 

« 

I beg to acknowledge with gratitude the assistance of Col. R. 
T. Durrett, Rev. E. (). Guerrant, Sanmel D. Young, Miss Hen- 
rietta W. Brown. Mrs. N'irginia Xoland, Robert G. Wright, Miss 
Jessie W^oodson, Mrs. Anna Meade Letcher, Dr. L. B. Todd, J. 
Willard ^Mitchell, Dr. Chas. Mann, ^'liss Josephine Mann, John 
S. Bronaugh, X. L. Ih-onaugh, Henr\' Glass, iMelancthon Young, 
Wm. L. Steele, V>. M. Arnett, and Emil Ilhardt, the skillful 
photographer, wlio have spared no effort to help me place in 
diu-able form the important events ui the historv of the county. 

Bennktt H. Young. 

Louisville, Ky., Sept. i6, 1898. 



History of Jessamine County, 



In 1767 John l^'inley, a woodsman and hunter, from North 
CaroHna, moved by a spirit of adventure and a love for hunting, 
entered the country known as the Bluegrass region. He was 
the first white man, history asserts, that ever penetrated the wil- 
derness and forests of Kentucky sufificiently to see the central part 
of the state. Who came with him, whither they went and how long 
the party remained, neither traveler, legend, norwritten storytells. 
It is most likely that they passed through Jessamine county and 
were the first of their race to look upon its pristine beautv and 
glory. Two years later, Finley returned with Daniel Boone to 
that wonderful land he liad described to his neighbors and as- 
sociates in North Carolina, with such eloquence and enthusiasm 
as to arouse within them an inextinguishable desire to visit a land 
which then was looked upon as "God's own country." What be- 
came of him after this second visit is unknown, but it is a reason- 
able conclusion that somewhere in the stillness and sul:)lime silence 
of the great forests to which he had led the white man, the 
red man took his life and left him as his shroud the leaves of the 
forest and his moniunent the mighty trees which stood sentinel 
for ages over the fertile and genial soil of Kentucky. 

Dr. Thomas Walker, from A'irginia, had in 1750 explored a 
portion of Kentucky, but he only skirted the Bluegrass and rode 
over the mountains of Southeastern Kentucky, and what he saw 
and reported, created no spirit of exploration and no desire of 
emigration. I'inlev was the man who saw the hiuitsman's para- 
dise, and whose soul was fired for its possession, and into whose 
mind was burned memories which made life miserable awa)- from 
the glories of the new land into which he had by accident come. 

Some months after his return, while wandering along the 
Yadkin river in North Carolina, Finley met a kindred spirit, one 
of the master woodsmen of his age. In the solitude of the wilder- 
ness of North Carolina, far out beyond the advance of civilization 

(11) 



12 Hidorij of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 

and settlement, he found a rude cabin, in wliicli dwelt a young 
man, not much beyond his majority. By his side was a brave 
woman, who, amid the dangers and hardships of the wild, wild 
frontier, shared his life and hopes and brightened the solitude and 
drearyness of his isolated home. By the humble, but hospitable 
fireside of the young hunter, Finley was welcomed as a guest, an<l 
again and again he told the story of his journey toward the north, 
of the magnificent region where there would be an eternal feast 
for the luuiter, where game was so abimdant that the droves of 
bufifalo could be counted like herds of cattle, where deer licked the 
hand of the intruder, and coons, 'possums, turkeys and pheasants, 
were so plentiful as to obstruct the path along which men would 
tread. 

Finley had found a heart which would respond in fullest har- 
mony to his words, a harp which answered his touch, and each 
day gave back not only sweetest note, but varied and sympa- 
thetic chords ; a man whose brave soul was devoid of all fear and 
who wanted nothing better for time or eternity than that glorious 
and distant region of which the new found friend spoke. A com- 
pact, ofTensive and defensive, was then and there signed. Boone 
had at last heard of a land for which his soul sighed, a land which 
filled his ideal of a paradise and to see it, to tread its traces and to 
enjoy its pleasure, he resolved to give up his home, his wife, his 
children, and if need be to surrender his life. To once see such a 
land as Finlev described, he felt Avould be com]:>ensation for all 
that earth could bestow. 

Sparse settlements along the Holston. 200 miles away, and the 
forts on the Ohio at Pittsburgh and the few houses strung along 
the line of the wilderness now were the closest neighbors to Ken- 
tucky. 

Boone came in 1769, and brought his family in 1775. 

The founding of the Transylvania colony by Henderson, in 
1775, gave an armed and trained force to meet Indian attack, and 
Harrodsburg and St. Asaphs, or Logan's Fort, formed the mili- 
tary triangle about which and in which the new settlers made 
their homes. 

The Transylvania land scheme of 1775 did not include Jessa- 
mine county. Its lines followed the south or western side of the 
Kentuckv river, and left the eastern boundarv alwavs in Mrginia. 



Hidorij of Jessamine Goiintu, Kentiickij. 



13 



When l)v act of the Xiroinia House of lUirgesses, in 1780. 
Kentucky was divided into three counties, Fayette. Jefferson and 
Lincohi' Jessamine was comprised within the Hmits of Fayette, 
and so remained until, December 17, 1798. when it was separated 
from the parent county, and became the thirty-sixth county of the 

state. ^ 

The initial lines of pioneer travel did not traverse Jessamme. 
The Wilderness road, entering the state at Cumberland Gap, di- 
vided at Rockcastle river, one branch going to Boonesboro, and 
the other by Crab Orchard. Danville and P.ardstown. to Louis- 

'' The persistent assaults of the Indians on the settlers in Ken- 
tucky in 1782. caused the abandonment of all the forts m the 
state east of the Kentucky, except five, Lexington. Bryants, Mc- 
Connells, McClellans {Georgetown) and Boones. 

The county of Kentucky was established in 1775. and divided 
into three counties in 1780; and prior to 1792 six more were add- 
ed making, at the inception of its statehood, nine m all. 

Added^ Bourbon. 1 785 : Madison. 1 785 : Mason. 1 789 ; Mer- 
cer, 1785: Nelson, 1781 ; Woodford, 1788. 

The first fort and only fort m Jessamine county was estab- 
lished by Levi Todd in i779- This was one year before Lexing- 
ton was'built. The line of travel between Harrodsl)urg and the 
Fayette county stations, passed through the northern and west- 
ern parts of the county, and on this trace, near Keene, Todd's sta- 
tion was built. 

The isolation <^f the forts and the constant and destructive ma- 
rauds of the Indians, now ofi^cered by Englishmen and provided 
xyith improved arms, terrified the settlers east of the Kentiicky 
river They were nearest to the homes of the Indians from the 
northwest who had now become the most dreadful of all the sav- 
ages who invaded the state, and 1780-81-82, they drove in the 
outposts, and with great difficulty the white men were able to 
maintain their stations at all in and around Lexington. It was 
then that personal safety compelled Todd to abandon his Jessa- 
mine holdings and take such help and protection as the four sta- 
tions around Lexington offered to the almost hopeless men and 
^vomen who occupied the limited territory m hayette. which re- 



14 Hutory of Jesmmine Counti/, Kentucky. 

mained after the terrible fatality of Ruddell's and Martin's stations 
in June, 1780. 

The land law enacted by the Mrginia Legislature, in the set- 
tling of land made location easy and popular. The wonderful ac- 
counts of the fertility, beauty and salubrity of Kentucky turned an 
immense tide of immigration to the state. In 1782, the popula- 
tion did not exceed 1500; in 1790, it had grown to 61,133 white 
people; 114 colored free people, and 12,340 slaves ; a total of y;^- 
Gyy, while ten years later, in 1800. it had 179,873 white, 739 free 
colored, and 40,343 slaves; a total of 220,995, an increase in ten 
years of 224 1-2 per cent. 

Of this extraordinary improvement. Jessamine county re- 
ceived a full share. In 1782. it had not a single settler, and vet in 
1800, eighteen years thereafter, it had 5,461 inhabitants. This 
was the first decade in which a census could be taken. Fayette, 
from which Jessamine was entirely taken, had, in 1800, 18,410 in- 
habitants, or one-fourth of the entire population of the state. As 
a part of Clark was included in this enumeration, and assuming 
that Jessamine had grown in proportion as other pairts of Fayette, 
the count}- in 1790 had about 2,000 inhabitants. 

A great proportion of Jessamine immigration, came from A^ir- 
ginia. The Revolutionary soldiers were pouring into all parts of 
the state, and Jessamine received her full share, and more than 
one hundred of these brave and sturdy settlers found homes with- 
in her borders. 

No state could secure nobler treasure than were these Revolu- 
tionary soldiers. Their splendid courage, exalted patriotism, 
hardy natures, and noble characters, made them a worthy addition 
to any community. The self-reliance, tact and enterprise engen- 
dered by Revolutionary service, rendered them citizens of great 
and unusual worth. Of the rich store given by Virginia, Penn- 
sylvania, North and South Carolina, Jessamine received an ex- 
traordinary proportion. 

The most distinguished men of Revolutionary fame who came 
to Jessamine, were George Walker, Joseph Crockett, Benjamin 
Netherland, William Price, Percival Butler, William McKinney 
and John Price. 

These were not more patriotic or more loyal to the American 
cause than the others, but they had in the war obtained positions 



History of Jesmmine Connfij, KeidKcki/. 15 

which made them more prominent than their associates in the 
early history of the county. A brief sketch of each is properly a 
part of the history of Jessamine county. 



Benjamin Netherland. 

One of the most unique and extraordinary characters in the 
history of Jessamine county in its early days was Maj. Benjamin 
Netherland. He was born in Powhattan county, \'irginia, in 1755. 
He went to Cuba as the agent of his father, to dispose of his 
tobacco crop. There learning that Sir Peter Parker was to make 
an attack on Charleston, he left his cargo and ran the l)lockade 
into Charleston and helped to defend Fort Moultrie against 
British assault. He accompanied La Fayette on his jonrney from 
Charleston in 1777 as far as Mecklenburg county, North Carolina, 
when the distinguished Frenchman was on his way to Philadel- 
phia, to tender his services to Washington in behalf of American 
liberty. Fie remained at Charlotte, North Carolina until 1781, 
took part in the battle of Guilford Courthouse, and shortly after 
this he drifted into Kentucky. In May, 1782, he was at Estill 
station, and was with the Kentucky troops in the Estill defeat. 
He took part in nearly all the Indian battles from 1781 to 1784. 
He went with George Rogers Clark on his expedition in 1782 to 
punish the Indians for the wrongs of Blue Licks. 

Pie was with General Harmar in his defeat, and with (ieneral 
Wayne in his victory at Fallen Timl)ers in 1794 and was instru- 
mental in punishing the men who had perpetrated the slaughter 
at Blue Licks. After seven years' absence in Kentucky, he re- 
turned to North Carolina in 1788 and married his boyish sweet- 
heart. Miss Theodosia Bramlette, who was a daughter of the 
distinguished Revolutionary fighter Col. Bramlette. He had 
lived in Fayette and Madison counties prior to his coming to 
Jessamine, .\fter his marriage he settled on a farm five miles 
east of Nicholasville, and in 1793 he removed to wliere Nicholas- 
ville now stands, and built a hotel and called it Mingo Tavern — 
this house he kept until his death in 1838. The house was torn 
down in 1864. The author has often seen it when a boy, and the 
picture of it in this history is from a drawing made in 1820. He 



Hiitori/ of Je<iomme Count if, Kentucky. 17 

was chairman of the Board of Trustees of XicholasWlle, and was 
prominent in its early history-, and his children were the first 
white people bom \mhin its limits. He was the real hero of the 
battle of Blue Licks. Robert \\ icklifFe. of Lexington, whose 
second wife was the only daughter of Col. Todd, who was in com- 
mand at the battle at Blue Licks, in a political speech in 1848 in 
Xicholas^■ille said that the majority of men who escaped at Blue 
Licks owed their presenation to Benjamin Xetherland and that 
Xetherland was a fearless man. fruitful in resources and of mag- 
nificent courage. 

Col. Robert Patterson, writing to Xetherland in 1836. says, "1 
can not forget the part you acted in the battle of Blue Licks." At 
the time of this battle Xetherland was only twenty-seven years 
old. and he went from Lexington as a member of Capt. Robert 
Patterson's company. In the disastrous conflict he remained 
mounted, and gained the ford over Licking in safety and crossed 
the stream unhurt. As he reached the west bank he looked back 
over his shoulder, and his soul was stirred with deepest emotion, 
and his heart filled with grandest courage as he saw his comrades 
struggling, swimming and plunging in the river, or rushing down 
the bank pursued by the savage enemy with unsheathed knives 
and uplifted tomahawks. He was a man of towering form, six 
feet two inches in height. He dismounted from his horse, and 
thro\\"ing the rein over his arm. in stentorian tone ordered his flee- 
ing comrades to halt and fire upon the Indians and save those 
who were still in the stream. His braver}- and his splendid 
presence restored the spirits of his fear-stricken comrades. More 
than a dozen men instantly obeyed his call, and facing about with 
Xetherland and standing in line they opened a fatal and deadly 
fire upon the foremost of the pursuing savages. The coimter 
attack was so sudden and imexpected that it checked the fierce 
pursuit of the Indians and they instantly fell back from the op- 
posite bank. Xetherland and his men maintained their position 
and drove the Indians to cover, while the wearied and almost 
despairing footmen were enabled to ford and swim the river in 
safety. Only a few minutes were necessary for those who could 
reach the stream or who were in it to pass over. The footmen 
as they left the bank quickly fled from the buflPalo trace and dis- 
appeared in the thickets and started by circuitous routes to reach 



18 Hi><tory of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 

some friendly station. So soon as these distressed and ex- 
hausted or wounded footmen were enabled to secrete themselves 
in the dense forests, large numbers of the Indians were seen 
crossing both aib'ove and beloiw, and Netherland and his comrades- 
mounting their horses galloped along the well-worn trace, and 
reached Bryan Station that evening, without further loss. 

Major Netherland always retained his old-time dress. He 
wore a cut-a-way coat, short breeches with knee buckles, and 
low shoes with silk lacers and silver buckles. His pants were al- 
ways fastened with red bands, and his long queue was tied with a 
red ribbon. From his entrance into Xicholasville early in 1791 
for forty years he was prominent as a leader in all its affairs. He 
was postmaster for about twenty-three years and always dis- 
pensed the village hospitality with a lavish hand. Every man 
who had fought in the Revolutionary war or in the Indian wars 
either in Kentucky or in the Northwest, was his friend, and none 
ever went from his door hungry or uncared for. 

He was passionately fond of horse-racing, and owned some of 
the great race-horses of Kentucky in the early part of the century. 
He was a fair and just man in his dealings with his fellow-men. 
He was not averse to a "good time," as people call it, and was 
always, even toward the end of his life, considered "one of the 
l^oys." He opened a race track on the Willoughby place near 
Sulphur Well, and maintained it for many }ears. 

In 1802 there was a quarter race on the track, and in the hear- 
ing of the crowd, Major Netherland announced that on a certain 
day (naming it) there would be another race for a purse of $50, 
one mile heats, which was "free for anything with four legs and 
hair on." At that time there was working on a farm a young- 
man named Michael Arnspiger who had broken a bull to the 
saddle, which he rode to mill. He immediately put the bull 
in training and for several days gave him turns around the race 
track. He used spurs on the bull and when these were dug into 
his sides, he was accustomed to bellow. On the day of the race 
Arnspiger appeared on the groimd with his bull. He had placed 
a dried hide of an ox on the bull's rump, and he carried a tin horn 
in his hands. He demanded of the judges the right to enter his 
animal, to which the owners of the horses vehementlv objected, 
but Arnspiger answered by appealing to Major Netherland it 



Hhtorij of Jessamine Coitnty. Kentuckij. 19 

he had not said tliat the race was free to "anything with four legs 
and hair on." Alaj. Xetherland admitted that he had, and ex- 
plained that the bull had a right to enter. When the drum was 
tapped. Arnspiger blew his horn, planted his spurs in the sides 
of the bull, which bounded off with a dreadful bellow, with the 
ox-hide flapping on his sides and presenting a spectacle, combined 
with the noise, that had never been seen on the race track before. 
The horses immediately flew the track, and Arnspiger galloped 
home a winner. The losers contended that they were swindled 
out of thir money; that Arnspiger should not have l)een al- 
lowed to blow the tin horn, or use the ox-hide, and that but for 
this he could not have won the race. Thereupon Arnspiger of- 
fered to take the ox-hide ofi" and leave his tin horn at the stand 
and run them from end to end. Mr. Willoughby and Air. Xether- 
land were judges at the next start. Arnspiger again planted his 
s])urs into the sides of the l)ull with redoul^led fury. The loud 
bellow that followed drove the horses from the track despite the 
exertions of the riders, and Arnspiger pulled in the second $50 
purse. With the money thus obtained he purchased a black- 
smithing outfit, working for many years at his trade near Wil- 
more, and died there in the sixties, in the 85th year of his age. 

Major Xetherland had a great fondness for race horses and 
not only ran his own horses Ijut went to see everbody else's 
horses wdio ran in the neighborhood. The race track in those 
early days was on the Willougliby farm in the new field now 
owned by Col. X". D. Allies. Alajor X'etherland owned a very 
fast horse for those days, which he called by the name of Fear- 
nought. He had secured this horse in \'irginia and brought him 
across the mountains. The horse had been trained in Virginia 
and made his first race at Fredericks1nu-g, in 1805. beating Gen- 
eral Tracy's horse, Indian, in three heats. In those times four 
mile races were run. The time given by Major Xetherland was 
as follows : 

First. 8 minutes. 29 seconds. Second, 8 minutes. 45 seconds. 
Third, 8 minutes. 50 seconds. 

Then people believed in bottom and horses had to run long 
distances. This time was not u]) to that made by the great race 
horse, Lexington, at Xew Orleans, where he beat the world's 
record in 7 minutes, 193-4 seconds, but it was good running. 



20 History of Jemambie County, Kentucky. 

F"eamought was the special pride of Major Xetherland. He 
ran against a horse called Bald Eagle, who was owned by Daniel 
Bradford, a son of John Bradford, the founder of the Kentucky 
Gazette, and who wais for long time editor of that paper. The 
Alexander Willoughby referred to was a Revolutionary soldier. 
He came early to Kentucky and settled in Jessamine county oii 
the Sul])hur Well road. He was the father of Mrs. Catherine 
Slielby and died in 1837, in his eighty-fifth year. 

General Samuel Hopkins was a Revolutionary soldier, a 
native of Albemarle county, \'a. He was a distinguished officer in 
the Revolutionary army, and none performed more active service 
or enjoyed in a greater degree the confidence of Washington. 
He caaiie to Kentucky in 1797 and settled on Green river, in 
Green count}-. He was a member of Congress in 1813 and '15 
and was engaged in the Indian wars in the west. He and Major 
Netherland were great friends and General Hopkins himself had 
a weakness for a good horse. The following letter describing 
the race, is both interesting and unique : 

Jessamine Countv, Kv., June 5, i8o5. 
Gen. Sam'l Hopkins, 

Dear Friend : I take my seat to inform you that Fearnought 
is again winner of a purse of $100. In all the races which have 
previously been run on this track, it has been a matter of much 
inconvenience to the judges to make a fair decision without a 
fuss, which often creates unnecessary excitement throughout the 
day. But it did not in any manner afTect the nerve of Mr. Will- 
oughby, who was one of the judges who started the horses. He 
seemed to have a proper and just idea of the necessity of an even 
start, and nothing else but an even start would suit him, and that 
he gave. I wish all the other judges were as honest as he is. At 
the tap of the drum Fearnought and Bald Eagle darted like 
thunderbolts, each determined to win or die. Around the track 
they sped like hell cats, not a shade between them. Up the back 
stretch they Hew like doves escaping from a hawk. At the half 
mile in 40 seconds, they locked around the turn. They tried it 
again, a slight pull before reaching the home stretch, and with 
renewed vigor. Fearnought in the lead. Bald Eagle renews his 
extraordinary power, but Fearnought comes out with unfalter- 



History of Jesmmine County, Kentucky. 21 

ing step and the race is decided in his favor. The question of 
championship, }-oii will see at onice, gives Fearnought the palm. 



DESCRIPTION OF FEARNOUGHT. 

Fearnought is rive years old last grass ; is a dark blood bay, 
16 hands high, of superior bone and muscle, with fine limbs, lofty 
carriage and elastic tread ; a star in his forehead, vividly lighting 
up a countenance expressive of great superiority ; game head, 
curved neck ; unusual depth of chest ; fine, broad shoulder; beau- 
tifully inclining back, which gives him the appearance of a horse 
of most wonderful strength and endurance. I expect to enter 
him this fall for a purse of $1,000 at Fredericksburg, and the city 
of Baltimore and Washington. Bald Eagle is now the property 
of Daniel Bradford, and was trained in Maryland, and won many 
races there, but, 1 think, his career upon the turf is over. 

Your friend, 

B. Netherland. 

In another letter, written to General Hopkins in 1802, Major 
Xetherland recites a most interesting incident. During that year 
a party of Cherokee Indians from North Carolina stopped all 
night at the Mingo Tavern, kept by Major Netherland. In the 
morning one of them was very sick and unable to travel and in a 
few days died at the hotel. He received the kindest possible 
treatment from ?\Iajor Netherland and his family. In describing 
this incident Major Netherland says : 

"A few days ago four Cherokee Indians from Iredell county, 
N. C, called at my home and remained over night. Next morn- 
ing one of them was too sick to travel. All day his sufferings 
were severe and painful. I sent for Drs. Gale and Peter Trisler, 
who at once pronounced his case hopeless. After intense suffer- 
ing for four days the poor Intlian died. His poor, disconsolate 
friends were painfully grieved at the death of one of their num- 
ber, who was a man of some notoriety among his people, particu- 
larly as an expert hunter, having himself killed seventy-odd deer 
while on the last (October hunt in the Cumberland mountains. 
The dead body of the poor Indian was taken to the Kentucky river 
clififs, eight miles south of Nicholasville, and interred in the earth 



2iJ Hidonj of Jemunlne Goititti/, Kentucky. 

after the Indian custom, but instead of tilling- the vault with earth, 
as is used with us, these poor Indians made a small frame work 
of wood, like a steep roof, which they put round the mouth, and 
reared up a heavy pile of earth, giving- it the appearance of a 
potatoe heap. The three Indians who buried their comrade ap- 
peared bowed with g-rief. One seated himself on the ground, 
directing his face toward sunset, and extending his voice, made 
a great and sore lamentation. As much as I hate these wild chil- 
dren from the forest, I could not refrain from shedding tears 
when looking on them in this honest grief at the loss of one who 
was regarded as a good and true man. In four or five weeks after 
the death of their comrade, the same party, with a brother of the 
Indian, who' died, oame back and took his body in a small wa:gon 
to North Carolina, a distance of more than 300 miles, and rein- 
terred his remains in the land of his birth among his own people. 
I have been much among the Cherokees of North Carolina. 1 
consider them among the best of our Indian friends. They have 
strange customs. I wish I had time to give you more correct 
idea of their general character as compared with the other Indian 
tribes of our country. 

"Your old crony, 

" B. Netherland." 

Major Netherland died October 10, 1838, and was buried in 
liis garden, which is now the lot on which the county jail is built. 
Mr. los. Wallace, a remote kinsman, has, with most commendable 
love and liberality and true spirit of kinship, erected a headstone 
over the grave of Major Netherland and that of his wife, who, in 
185 1, was laid beside her husband. At his death Major Netherland 
was accorded a magnificent military funerail. The funeral sermon 
was preached by Bishop Kavanaugh, who was then the Presiding 
Elder of the district. Gen. Leslie Combs, Maj. D. B. Price, Gen. 
lohn McCalla and Robert Wicklifife were his pall-bearers, and all 
the leading military companies of the county turned out to do his 
memory honor. 

Major Netherland's experience in the battle of the Blue Licks, 
justified him in his subsequent love of horses. 

He bred a great many fine race horses in his day, and in a let- 
ter written by him to Gen. John McCalla, in 1830, now in my pos- 



HI>4ori/ of Jr>imiiu)ie Coinity, Keiifiicki/. 23 

session, he begs him to come to Xicholasville on the following 
Suntlay to dine with him and promises to show him "the damnd- 
est best three colts in the world." 



Joseph Crockett. 

Among the large train of Revolutionary soldiers who followed 
tlie track of empire westwardly, was Col. Joseph Crockett, of 
Albemarle connty. \ irginia. He was born in Albemarle county 
in 1742. He received fairly good educational advantages for 
•hat period. His father, John Crockett, came to X'irginia in the 
first half of the century. He followed teaching as his profession 
and taught a high school near Charlottesville. Joseph Crockett 
was his oldest son. 

In 1774 Joseph Crockett went as a private soldier with Gen. 
Andrew Lewis and was engaged in the battle of Point Pleasant. 
This was one of the most important of all the battles in the West. 
Jt was there that Ceneral Lewis met the Indians under the 
celebrated chief Cornstalk, and after a fight of nearly a whole 
day the Indians were put to flight. 

In 1775 the county authorities of Albemarle directed that two 
com])anies be raised for the defense of the western section of 
the state. ( )ne company was to be stationed at Point Pleasant, 
where the Kanawha and Ohio rivers unite. Gen. William Rus- 
sell was appointed captain of one of these companies and Joseph 
Crockett lieutenant. In the winter of "75 they were discharged 
and they were ordered to raise two new companies for the Con- 
tinental army. Joseph Crockett was appioiiited captain of one of 
these companies and on the 5th of May, 1776, served in Mrginia. 
In 1776 the regiment was marched to Philadelphia. That year 
he was appointed major and raised two companies for Gen. Daniel 
^Morgan's rifle regiment. He took part in the battle of Mon- 
mouth, fought June 20, 1778, and after this battle was promoted 
to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and so remained until October, 
1780, when, by resolution of congress the army was reorganized 
and Colonel Crockett was reduced to the rank of captain. He 
was with Gates at the surrender of Burgoyne in 'yy. He was en- 
gaged in the battles of Brandywine, Princeton and Trenton, and 



24 History of Jessamine Gonntij, Kentucky. 

was with Washington at A'alley Forge, where there sprung up 
between Colonel Crockett and General Washington a warm 
friendship, which lasted until the end of their lives. He was 
wounded in the arm at the siege of Yorktown in 1782. 

In 1779 Colonel Crockett was directed by the state of Mr- 
ginia to raise a regiment, of which he became lieutenant-colonel, 
to proceed down the Ohio river to Kentucky and Illinois to as- 
sist George Rogers Clark. He raised the regiment, which was 
known as the Illinois or Crockett Regiment, and served for eigh- 
teen months with General Clark. He was in many of the battles 
with the Northwestern Indians on the Miami river, and helped 
to destroy Chillicothe and other towns in the northwestern ter- 
ritory on the Wabash. In one of the battles in which he fought 
he had two horses shot under him by the sharpshooters, and it 
was admitted that he had been in as many fights and skirmishes 
as any officer in the Revolutionary army. 

In 1784 he moved tO' Kentucky and settled first between 
Cumberland Gap and Crab Orchard. He remained there only 
a short time, and moved to Jessamine county and settled on lands 
near the Union Mills. His son, Robert Crockett, built the Union 
Mills and Col. Joseph Crockett built the old stone house on the 
banks of Hickman creek, which is now standing and was latelv 
occupied by Dr. Jasper, a descendant of Sergeant Jasper, who was 
put to death at Savannah by the British. 

Colonel Crockett was appointed by Mr. Jefferson as United 
States Marshal for the district of Kentucky. He held this office 
for two terms. When the applications were read to Mr. Jef- 
ferson for this office, his eye dropped upon that of Joseph 
Crockett. He said, "Joseph Crockett; honest Joseph Crockett; 
you need go no further, he shall have the appointment." Im- 
mediately after his removal to Kentucky he at once assumed a 
prominent place in the development and in the government of the 
new state. In 1786-1790 he represented Fayette in the Virginia 
Legislature. He was also appointed magistrate of Fayette 
county in 1792, along with Percival Butler. He was a member 
of the first legislature from Fayette county, in 1792, '93, '94, and 
'95. Under the Constitution of 1792 he was elected one of the 
senators. These senators were chosen by electors elected for that 
purpose. 



Hktory of Jessamine Goioifn, KeidKckji. 25 

In 1792 a project was organized for the clearing- and improve- 
ment of the Wilderness Road, under Col. John Logan and James 
Knox. The suhscriptions for that purpose at that time would 
probably be the highest evidence of public spirit. Among them 
are the names of Isaac Shelby, for 3 pounds ; Robert Breckin- 
ridge, 2 pounds 8 shillings ; George Nicholas. 2 pounds 8 shil- 
lings ; John Brown, 2 pounds 8 shillings ; Joseph Crockett, I 
pound 18 shillings; Robert Patterson, i pound 10 shillings; G. 
M. r.edinger, 18 shillings ; Samuel McDowell, i pound 4 shillings, 
and a large number of other prominent names. 

He represented Fayette county in the convention called in 
1788 at Danville, to consider separation from \'irginia. Al- 
though at first opposed to separation, Colonel Crockett was con- 
vinced by the arguments of John Marshall of the propriety of 
this separation. 

The question in this convention was, whether there should be 
a violent separation frc^m X'irginia, or whether the separation 
should be legal and on constitutional groiuids. It was in this 
convention that Colonel Crockett became alarmed at the speeches 
of John Brown and General Wilkinson. He left his seat in 
tlie convention, hurried to Lexington and on Saturday, Simday 
and Monday secured the signatures of several hundred citizens of 
Fayette county remonstrating against separation from Mrginia 
without her consent, when he returned and presented this petition 
to the convention. After it was read General Wilkinson saw 
that he was in opposition to the wishes of the people and yielded 
to what was the inevitable. 

Colonel Crockett, being then Fruited States Marshal, arrested 
Aaron Burr in 1806, under proceedings by Joseph Hamilton 
Daveiss against Aaron Burr. Colonel Crockett's commission 
bore the signature of General ^Vashington and was handed to 
him bv La Fayette, and when La Fayette visited Kentuckv in 
1825 he threw his arms around Colonel Crockett at Frankfort 
and they wept with each other like children. Col. Joseph 
Crockett. Col. Anthony Crockett and Gen. Peter Dudley rode 
in a carriage with La Fayette from Frankfort to Lexington. 
Colonel Crockett introduced a large number of old Revolutionary 
soldiers to General La Fayette at the reception given him l)y Mr. 
Wicklifle. 



26 Hvitory of Jessamine Countij, Kentucki/. 

As General La Fayette passed by a hotel in the parade, Maria 
Henderson, a httle girl twelve years of age, a granddaughter of 
Colonel Crockett, and from Jessamine county, from the window 
of the hotel sang, "Hail to the Chief Who in Triumph Advances." 
The fresh, young voice of the little girl had a wonderful at- 
traction for General La Fayette. He requested that the carriage 
should be stopped and as he listened to the song from the lips of 
the child, tears streamed down his cheeks. He said that it was 
the sweetest act of homage ever paid him. 

Colonel Crockett was pensioned by the Lnited States Govern- 
ment. In company with other soldiers in the Revolutionary war, 
he received several thousand acres of land from the government 
and shortly before his death his pension was increased to $600 a 
year. He enjoyed it only for twelve months. When visiting his 
daughter, Mrs. Augustine Bower, at Georgetown, he was seized 
with a fatal illness and died there. 

The following letter written by a Revolutionary soldier to 
Maj. Daniel B. Price, will be interesting as it refers to many 
characters prominent in Jessamine county at that time. 

Near Georgetown, Scott county, Ky., 
Nov. 20, 1829. 

Dear Friend : I was pained that I had not the pleasure of 
seeing you at the burial of Col. Joseph Crockett, six weeks ago 
in Jessamine county. T have learned from your letter that you 
were very sick at the time of his burial and unable to get out of 
bed. He died at the home of Dr. Bower, his son-in-law. For 
three weeks, or more, previous to his death, he repeatedly in- 
formed his friends that he viewed himself as a dying man ; that he 
was not afraid to meet death at any moment. A few days after 
he was taken with his last illness, and while he was able to walk 
about the room, his eye sight failed him. He took the Rev. 
Isaac Reed to be vou and ordered him to bring your son, 
Joseph, to see him, as he had not seen him for some months. 
C^n my telling him that you were detained in Jessamine, but 
would probably be up Friday, he quietly fell into a sleep. He slept 
about an hour, and waked and had a severe coughing spell. It 
was at this time that he drew his breath with great difficulty, and 
the agony he was in was so great that in two hours after he had 



History of Jc-<mini)ie Couitty, Knitnchj. 27 

awakened from sleep he died. Capt. William Christy, Maj. John 
1'. Pratt. Maj. William Johnson, Capt. William Smith, of Bour- 
l)on. and the Rev. John Hudson and Mr. Reed, were present in 
the room when he died. 

When he w^as dying I noticed him put his head a little back, 
closed his eves as if going to sleep and expired, at the ripe age of 
83. His remains were taken to his home in Jessamine and buried 
with the honor suitable to the memory of a brave and patriotic 
man. who served his country bravely in the Revolutionary war. 
The order of procession to the grave was as follow^s : 

The hearse with the military escort, attended by music, on 
each flank. The relatives, the ladies, the citizens, the fine volun- 
teer company from Georgetown, commanded by Maj. William 
Johnson, with Capt. Thomas Cogar's company from Xicholas- 
ville, the whole conducted by Col. John T. Pratt, marshal of the 
day. At the grave the usual ceremonies took place by the firing 
of thirteen rounds by Captains Graves and Leslie Combs, of 
Lexington, who, at the head of the gun squad, fired at intervals 
during the services at the grave. There were present more than 
a thousand persons with carriages and horses. Such was the 
good order and decorum preserved that not the slightest accident 
occurred. At the close of the ceremonies the Rev. John Hudson 
delivered a brief address touching the high character of Col. 
Crockett as a citizen, neighbor and friend — a model of virtue and 
morality, cherished in the affections of all who knew him. 
Though his manly form lies low in death, his many virtues, his 
patriotic example, shall continue to abide in the memory of the 
living. Such, my dear friend, is a brief account of the burial of 
your father-in-law, Col. Joseph Crockett. 

Very truly your friend, 

B. S. Chambers. 
Daniel B. Price, Nicholasville, Ky. 

Colonel Crockett was a man of splendid physique, six feet 
three inches in height, spare but muscular, dark hair, sallow com- 
plexion, with keen, piercing, black eyes ; roman nose and thin, ex- 
pressive lips. The many ofifices to which he was elected in 
Fayette and Jessamine counties evince in what high esteem he 
was held by those who knew him. He always wore a long, blue 



28 Hidory of Jexmmine County, Kentuckij. 

cut-a-\vay coat with brass buttons, with knee breeches and black 
silk stockings and heavy silver shoe buckles. As was the custom 
among- the gentlemen at that early period, he wore a cue falling 
down his back between his shoulders, tied with a blue ribbon. 

Colonel (,'rockett was buried on his old home place, where 
had preceded him to the tomb his wife and children. The brick 
house which he built in the early part of the century still stands 
near the grave-yard, and is the property of Air. John Baker, form- 
erly owned by Otho Roberts. A few years since, his grandson, 
Col. Bennett H. Young, had erected around it an iron fence. 

The following letter, written by Maj. Benjamin Netherland, 
who was then a resident of Xicholasville, will be both amusing 
and interesting : 

Xicholasville, Ky., October 7, 1826. 

M\ Dear Friend : I was very much pained on hearing that 
vour cut on the leg has not improved since I was to see you in 
April last. T was sorry that your vv'ounded leg prevented you 
from being in Lexington last year, when the Marquis de la Fayette 
was given one of the greatest and grandest receptions I ever wit- 
nessed. More than ten thousand people marched in line to re- 
ceive on the big road leading from Frankfort to Lexington. He 
rode in a fine four-horse carriage accompanied by Governor 
Deslia, Col. Anthony Crockett, Col. Joseph Crockett, Genl. Peter 
r)udley, and many other gentlemen who rode on horseback and 
acted as a guard of honor in the rear of the carriage. More than 
forty-six years ago I was in Charleston when he landed there in 
1777, a young man from France on his way to of¥er his services to 
General Washington to fight for the liberties of the people of our 
country. In Charleston he was received with becoming respect 
and honor, the people everywhere were loud in their praise of the 
\oung French soldier — but his reception was nothing in com- 
parison to the reception given him by the patriotic people of Lex- 
ington last ]May. When General La Fayette got into Lexington 
the rush of many of the old soldiers was truly exciting. Every- 
where his carriage was stopped by the surviving veterans who 
had served with him and Washington at Monmouth, Trenton, 
Brandy wine and Little York. Everyone was anxious to see La 
Fayette. It just seemed that there was no other actor in the great 
revolutionary drama who had been so near to the heart of Wash- 



History of ,/€■•<>« idi I ue Gotaity, Kciitucki/. 29 

iiiLji'ton as (General La I'"ayette. When the great dinner given to 
tlie general in the city Hniits was over, I went to Mr. WickHff's 
honse with Cols. Joseph and /\nthony Crockett to pay my respects 
to the young man, forty-seven years ago. I introduced to Col. 
William Motiltry who was putting Charleston in fighting trim to 
resist the liritish fleet which 1 learned while in Cuba was to sail 
from Jamaca under Admiral Parker and bombard Charleston. I 
brought this intelligence which T hastened to give Colonel Moul- 
trie, who inunediately commenced j^utting the town in a proper 
state for defending every place along the harbor. On arriving 
at Mr. WickHff's house Joe Crockett first introduced me to 
George Washington La Fayette, the son of the general. His 
son looked like a man who had seen much mental trouble ; he 
seemed to be pleased at the reception given to his father, but was 
not a man to talk, was stiff and I thought not an intelligent man 
whatever, Init a proud, weak man. Wlien Colonel Crockett 
brought me into the parlor of Mr. Wickliff's house, General La 
h^ayette, he introduced me as the yotmg man "Netherland" who 
fortv-seven years before had made him known to Colonel Moul- 
try who in 1776 and 1777 had command at Charleston. He re- 
membered me introducing him to Moultry and my going as far 
as Charlotte with him, as he went through Richmond to Phila- 
<lel])hia, he received me ver}- warmly, shedding tears as he did 
when meeting with Anthony and Joe Crockett. He asked my 
age, I told him T was just in my seventieth year ; he then informed 
me lie was 69 years of age and felt that his health had greatly im- 
proved' since he had revisited America. \\'hen I bid him fare- 
well L in companv with the two Crocketts and Robert B. McAfee, 
lieutenant-governor, all went and bid the general a long farewell. 
The general shed tears and in fact every one who was present 
cried. Dosia, my wife, kissed the general and we separated, 
never to see General La Fayette again on earth. Hundreds of 
the people of Lexington in talking of La Fayette cried out aloud. 
The ladies especiall}' shed tears when taking leave of the great 
friend of Washington. 

A'erv truly vour friend, 

B. Netherland. 
Capt. Thomas W. Ashford, 

\'ersailles, Ky. 



30 History of Jessamine CoKnty, Kentucky. 



John Price. 

Col. John Price early settled in Jessamine county in what is 
known as the Marble creek district. He came to Kentucky in 
1788 and was one of the best educated of the Revolutionary sol- 
diers who made the countv their home. His letters show that 
he was man of fine mind and good scholarship and he influenced 
a great many of his Revolutionary friends to settle in Jessamine, 
Fayette and Woodford counties. He was one of the first men to 
respond to the call to arms in the Revolutionary war. 

While born in Alaryland he was descended from a distin- 
guished A'irginia family. He was severely wounded at the bat- 
tle of Brandywinej September ii, 1777. He was also at Mon- 
mouth and Princeton and at the surrender of Cornwallis, at York- 
town. He died at his residence in Jessamine county on the loth 
of August, 1822. 

He started the agitation for the creation of a new county. 
He and his neighbors had been subjected to what they termed 
petty persecution, on the part of the constables and sheriffs, or 
their appointees, and as these all resided at Lexington and were 
not elected by the people, the inhabitants of that part of Jessa- 
mine became aggrieved at the conduct of these officers and this 
dissatisfaction produced the movement which finally ended in 
the organization of a county. 

He was the first man to represent the county in the legisla- 
ture and was elected late in 1798. It must have been a special 
election called for the purpose of choosing a representative. As 
the county was created on December 19th, 1798, and as the 
elections for 1798 under the constitution, were in May of that 
year, he must either have been appointed or elected as the first 
member from the county. A letter which he wrote to Col. 
Joseph Hamilton Daveiss on the 28th of Aug-ust, 1799, explains 
much, about which there have been different statements in the 
county, and shows that Col. Joseph Hamilton Daveiss and others 
assisted Colonel Price in securing the creation of the new countv. 

Colonel Price affiliated with the Baptist church. He was a 
man of great kindness of heart and liberality. He was a friend 
of all who needed his help and especially of the old Revolutionary 



Hktory of Jexmmiue Coioity, Kentuckij. 31 

soldiers. lUiried upon the old homestead, his grave was not 
marked. The place is now owned b>' a Mr. Hinds and while it is 
known in what enclosure he was buried, there is no stone to desig- 
nate his grave. 

Manv of his descendants now reside in Indiana, Illinois, Mis- 
souri and in the West, and the distinguished publisher John P. 
Morton, of Louisville, was a grandson of Colonel Price. 



William Price. 

Col. \\'illiam Price, who was not related to Col. John Price, was 
born in Fredericksburg, A'a., in 1755, and came with his family 
to Jessamine county in 1787. Capt. James C. Price, who com- 
manded the Jessamine Blues, at the battle of Raisin, on the 23d 
of February, 1813, was his oldest son, and was born while his 
father was absent in the American army. 

Col. William Price was descended from Baptist ancestry, who 
emigrated from Wales to Virginia, in 1720. When a mere lad, 
only fourteen years of age, he had seen Revds. John Waller and 
Louis Craig lodged in the Fredericksburg jail for preaching the 
Baptist doctrine. This was before the passage of the Statute of 
Airginia, granting religious liberty, in the passage of which, Thos. 
Jefferson considered that he had achieved one of the greatest 
triumphs of his long career. This produced a profound impres- 
sion upon his mind, and he was never able to eradicate his preju- 
dice against the Church of England, which had been instrumental 
in the arrest of these preachers, and he became an inveterate 
enemy of that church, and never brought himself to look with 
complacency upon those who were connected with it. He came 
to Kentucky with Louis Craig and his travehng church, in 1781, 
and remained for three years. He then returned to Mrginia, 
and in 1787 came back to Kentucky, settled in Jessamine count v 
and made it his permanent home. 

Colonel Price was in the Revolutionary war, from its ver\- 
commencement until the end. He was a first Lieutenant in the 
battle of Stony Point, July 16, 1799. and at the battles of Brandv- 
v.ine, Germantown, Monmouth, and Princeton, he was acting as 
Captain. He rose to the rank of Major, and was at Yorktown 



32 History of Jexmmine County, Kentucky 

when Cornwallis surrendered October 19, 1781. He married Mary 
Cunningham, in 1777, and three months after left his home and 
young- wife to fight the battles of freedom. His first engage- 
ment was in the battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777, and he 
did not return to his family until the close of the war. The part 
which most of the Episcopal clergy in A'irginia took against the 
revolution, still further embittered Colonel Price against that 
denomination. The following letter of his to Capt. Edward 
Payne, dated December 20th, shows both his feelings to the 
church, as well as to the character of the entertainments which 
were given in those days. A similar iuAdtation was written to 
Col. Luke Allen, in which a like prejudice crops out : 

Price's Hall, Stafford county, Va. 
December 20, 1787. 
Capt. Edward Payne, 

Overseer at Gunston Hall : 
My Dear Sir — This note is to apprize you that I invite you 
and all your Baptist friends to my house on Christmas day to 
partake of a big dinner of turkey and oysters, and to conclude 
with a dance at grandmother's in the evening. No Episcopalian 
has been invited. Such people are too aristocratic and over- 
bearing. The people who are communicants of that church try 
to imitate their aristocratic brethren of England in almost every 
act that they perform. I have no patience with such harpies as 
the clergy of this establishment. Their titles, dignities and liv- 
ings are too much like our late oppressors in the great war just 
closed. They must now consider that the people of the country 
now look chiefly to the practical and useful and not to mere empty 
titles which serve no good purpose in a free country. What we 
want in the church as well as in the state is plain, practical men, 
devoted men, who know and mingle with the people as one of 
themselves. We want no more English airs, no arrogance of de- 
meanor among neighbors. Tell Robert Craig to bring his fiddle, 
as we expect a good time generally. Tell Black Tom to come by 
all Tueans. 

William Price. 

Colonel Price must have borne a distinguished part in the 
battle of Stonv Point. The following letter, which he wrote to 



Hidorij of Jess<nnine Couiiti/, Kcntnckij. 33 

l\Iaj. James Cluke. the day after this l^attle, will show that in that 
battle he acted with great courage and his conduct was com- 
mended by General Wayne himself : 

Fort Stony Point, July 17, 1779. 
To. j\laj. James Cluke: 

Dear ]\Jajor — I wish that God would heal your wound and I 
could once more see you among your brave comrades. On yes- 
terday evening, July i6th, after marching over the roughest coun- 
try I ever saw, through deep swamps and narrow roads, we got 
\vithin. a mile of this fort, which is on the west bank of the Hudson 
river. It was of vast importance to our enemies and had been 
strengthened by every means of art that lay in their power. At 
night our heroic commander, Brigadier Wayne, came among us 
and told us that everything depended on secrecy, and, says he, 
"I want you men who belong to the regiments of Colonel Butler 
and Colonel Fleury to march with unloaded muskets and fixed 
bayonets ; I will lead you myself," said he. The river had flooded 
the swamps ^\•aist deep, but when we saw our beloved General go 
forward, we sprang forward, and our advance of twenty men at 
once attacked the double palisade. When one of the red-coated 
sons of bitches shouted in great alarm, "Here comes the damned 
rebels, shoot them." He was soon knocked on the head, biit a ter- 
rible fire Avas opened on us as we advanced througii the swamps. 
The guns from the fort spattered mud on us as well as dirtv water. 
Their grape and canister did not damage more than to spatter 
mud and water on our clothes. About this time our brave Gen- 
eral was knocked on the head in the right temple by a spent ball. 
I instantly raised him up. "March on. Lieutenant Price; carr)' me 
to the fort; I will die at the head of my men." W& bore him for- 
ward until we got near the center of the fort and both commands 
met, when the shout of victory rent the air. Our victory was 
complete ; we carried everything so rapidly that our enemies were 
surprised. We lost about sixty men. Joseph Campbell, of 
Fredericksburg, was killed ; also Private Clow and Richard 
Climer was killed. He was from Philadelphia, was a brave 
Dutchman, deeply religious. I hope he is safe in heaven. Hop- 
ing that you will soon recover from your wound, T am, your friend, 

William Price. 
3 



34 History of Je^mm'nie Coioitij, Kentuchj. 

He died at his residence, where he had settled when coming- 
to Jessamine county, on the loth of October, 1808. at the age of 
53 vears. He failed to reach that longevity which marked the 
lives of most of the Revolutionary soldiers who were transplanted 
to Kentucky, and especially Jessamine county. 

He was a patriot of the greatest intensity and earnestness. 
He earlv introduced in Jessamine county, celebrations of the 
Fourth of July. He had such a celebration at his house on the 
Fourth of Jul}', 1794. He invited a large number of his friends. 
On the fifth of July, 1794, he wrote a letter to Governor Shelby, 
and Revolutionary soldiers must have been abundant in those 
days, for he said that he had forty at his table on that occasion. 
The following is the communication which he made to Governor 
Shelby : 

Fayette county, Ky., July 5, 1794. 
To His Excellency, Isaac Shelby, 

Governor of Kentucky : 
My Esteemed P^riend — I was greatly disappointed by your 
not coming to my house on yesterday (July 4). We had a glori- 
ous time and a big dinner. Forty men sat down at my tables, who 
had served in the late struggle for our freedom and independence. 
It was a glorious sight to behold, and I wish King George HI 
and Lord North could have witnessed the scene in the wilds of 
America. On the return of this glorious birthday of our free- 
dom from British despotism, the heart of every patriot in the late 
struggle may rightfully pour its highest tribute to God and the 
great sages and soldiers who resolved to stake their lives and 
sacred honor in maintaining the Declaration of Independence. 
Throughout the limits of our country, from ^Massachusetts to 
Georgia, the hearts of a free and happ}- people have been dedi- 
cated on yesterday to the contemplation of the great blessings 
achieved and becjueathed to us by such heroic leaders as George 
Washington, Israel Putnam and Nathaniel Greene. Such brave- 
leaders took their lives in their hands, and liberty or death was in- 
scribed on their hearts. God, in the plenitude of His beneficence, 
has generally chosen men qualified to resist kings and tyrants in 
their attacks on the rights of the people. The history of our 
mother country furnished full proof of this fact and our own 
glorious country in the late war for independence is a more brill- 



HUtory of Je.-<!<aiiuiie ( hiiiit;/, Kcidackj/. i>5 

iant illustration of the g^reat truth thai God hates all tyrants and 
despotic rulers, and sooner or later overthrows all such rascals in 
causing the people to rise up and cut their heads off. 
Truly thy old friend, 

William Price. 
P. S. — I will be at Frankfort next Monday. 

The house in which he lived has been changed so as to bear no 
similarity to what it was when he resided in it, but the graveyard 
on the place is still maintained in fairly good order, and a sub- 
stantial stone wall surrounds the spot where he and his loved 
ones rest. He had quite a number of children and some of his 
descendants reside in Jessamine and Fayette counties now. 

George Walker. 

Gen. George Walker was one of the most distinguished gifts 
of A'irginia to Jessamine county. He was the second man to 
open a law office in the town of Xicholasville, which he did in 
1799, Samuel H. Woodson having been the first man to open 
such an office. George Walker owned the land upon which 
Mr. Melanchthon Young now resides, and \vas buried in the or- 
cliard about one hundred yards from the residence. 

He was a man of great learning and great enterprise, as well 
as great courage. Piorn in Culpeper county, Va., in 1763, he 
settled in Jessamine county, in 1794. He married Miss Rachel 
Coffee, of Xashville, Tenn., who was a daughter of Gen. John 
Coffee, who bore a distinguished part with Gen. Andrew Jack- 
son in the Indian wars in the South and West, as well as the war 
of 181 2. He was a mere lad when he entered the ranks of the 
Revolutionary army under Generals Green and Morgan, in the 
campaigns of 1780-81, and was at the battle of Cowpens, Jan- 
uary 17, 1781, and Guilford Court House. He was also at the 
siege of Yorktown. 

He was a man of noble physique and his appearance in- 
dicated his intelligence as well as his high character. His de- 
votion to his country and its cause knew^ no bounds. He was ap- 
pointed to a seat in the United States Senate by Gov. Isaac Shelbv, 
to fill a vacancv. 



36 Hidory of Jexmmine Count ii, Kentucki/. 

David Meade was an uncle of Colonel Walker, his father hav- 
ing married Colonel Meade's sister. He was in the battle of New 
Orleans with the Kentucky troops, where he attracted the at- 
tention of General Jackson by his superb bravery and his splendid 
heroism. He was also in the battles of the Northwest and was 
aide to Governor Shelby at the battle of the Thames. 

He died in Nicholasville in 1819, at the house now owned by 
Lewis C. Drake. Two of his sons emigrated to Texas and held 
distinguished positions. One of his sons, Andrew Walker, was 
a great friend of Quantrell, the celebrated Missouri soldier. 

The exact location of the grave of Colonel Walker is now un- 
known, but in his day he was one of the most prominent and re- 
spected citizens. His youngest son, Courtney Meade Walker, 
removed to Oregon, where he led the life of a hunter. He died in 
1886, at an advanced age. 

The first public service rendered by George \\ alker was as 
one of the commissioners to run the lines between Kentucky and 
Tennessee, and the boundary was known as Walker's Line. 
Some extracts from Courtney Meade Walker's letters will be in- 
teresting as showing the condition of affairs in olden times. He 
says : 'T was in Nicholasville in August, 1826. Harrison Daniels 
was a candidate for the legislature at that time. It was on the 
last day of the election. There were some five or six fist fights in 
the streets, but no one was injured or seriously hurt. I had come 
up from Louisville, where I had been at school. I was at the 
burial of Samuel H. W^oodson, in 1827, at the residence near 
David Meade's." 



Gen^I Percival Butler. 

Gen. Percival Butler, was born in Carlisle, Pa., April 
4, 1760. In 1778, he entered the American army as a lieutenant. 
He was at A'alley Forge with Washington, at the battle of Mon- 
mouth, and at the surrender at Yorktown. LaFayette was such an 
admirer of the young man that he presented him with a sword as 
a token of his friendship and esteem. He married a Miss Haw- 
kins, of Virginia. Col. John Todd, who fell at Blue Licks, mar- 
ried another sister. It was probably through this connection 



HiMonj of Jc-'saiiiiiH' Count If, Kciifiicli/. 37 

that (ieneral lUitler settled in Kentucky. He came to Jessa- 
mine county in 1784, and settled at the mouth of Hickman creek 
and engaged in merchandise. This point was then one of great 
importance. The Kentucky river was the outlet for a large pan 
of Central Kentucky, and tlatboats ])lied up and down the stream, 
carrying- the conmierce of the country tributary to it. The rich 
lands lymg- in proximity were already producing large treasure 
which found markets in the East and at New Orleans. Gen. James 
Wilkinson had opened a large dry goods store at Lexington in 
1784. Salt was carried out of the Salt river from Mann and Bul- 
litt Licks in 1796 to Xashville, and the Kentucky river was also 
sending" its tide of wealth to the outside world. 

In 1785 a ferry had been established at the mouth of Hick- 
man creek liy the A'irginia legislature, and in 1787 Wilkinson 
had pushetl his trade down the ^Mississippi to New Orleans, and 
the mouth of Hickman at once l^ecame a center of trade. 

By this date roads were cut through from Lexington to Dan- 
ville, Stanford and Lancaster, and the chartering of the ferry as 
early as 1785 shows that a large trade crossed at this point. Prior 
to this date no other ferry had been established by Virginia ex- 
cept the one across the Kentucky river at Boonesboro (1779). 
The next were those at the mouth of Hickman, the mouth of Jack's 
creek, Aladison county, at Long Lick, and two at Louisville, to 
the mouths of Silver creek and Mill Run. 

Gen. Percival Butler remained at the mouth of Hickman until 
1796, when he removed to the mouth of the Kentucky river, at 
Carrollton. He was made adjutant-general of Kentucky in 1792 
and took part in the war of 1812, and died in Carroll county, in 
1821. 

His eldest son, Thomas L. Butler, was born at the mouth of 
Hickman, in 1780. He was an aide to General Jackson at the 
battle of New ( Orleans in 1815, being then only twenty-six years of 
age, and was left by General Jackson in command of the city, to 
protect it against outbreaks. He represented Gallatin (then com- 
prising Carroll) county in the legislature, in 1826, and Carroll 
in 1848, and died at Carrollton in 1877, aged 88 years. 

Gen. Wm. Orlando Butler, second son of Gen. Percival But- 
ler, was born at the mouth of Hickman, April 19, 1791, and re- 
mained there until he was five years of age; then went with his 



38 Hldorij of Jei<mmhie County, Keiducky. 

father to CarrolltO'ii. He graduated at Transylvania University 
at twenty-one years of age, and at once volunteered as a private 
in the war of 1812, then in progress. He entered the service as a 
private, in Captain Nathaniel G. Hart's company, the "Lexington 
light infantry." Young Butler was made a corporal. This 
company was in the battle of Raisin, fought January 22, 181 3. 
Captain Hart was wounded in the leg in the fight. A British 
officer named Elliott, who had been nursed by Hart's family dur- 
ing a severe spell of illness, in Lexington, offered to protect Cap- 
tain Hart, who was a brother-in-law of Henry Clay, but he basely 
failed to redeem his promise, and Hart was massacred. In 
both battles at Raisin, January 18th and 22d, Butler's conduct 
commanded the highest praise. His courage, gallantry, and self- 
denial elicited universal praise. He was wounded and taken 
prisoner. 

His heroic conduct at Raisin shows that he has had no su- 
perior in courage and chivalry in the world's history, and one 
event is thus told by F. V. Blair, Sr. : 

"After the rout and massacre of the right wing, belonging 
to the Wells command, the whole force of the r)ritish and Indians 
was concentrated against the small body of troops under Maj. 
Geo. Madison, that maintained their ground within the picketed 
g'ardens, a double barn commanding the plat of ground on 
which the Kentuckians stood — on one side the Indians, under the 
cover of an orchard and fence, the British on the other side, being 
so posted as to command the space between it and the pickets. 
A party in the rear of the l)arn were discovered advancing to take 
possession of it. All saw the fatal consequences of the secure 
lodgment of the enemy at a place which would present every man 
within the pickets at close rifle shot, to the aim of their marksmen, 
Major Madison inquired if there was no one who would volunteer 
to run the guntlet ot the fire of the British and Indian lines, and 
put a torch to the combustibles within the barn, to save the rem- 
nant of the little army from sacrifice. The heroic Butler, without 
a moment's delay, took some blazing sticks from a fire at hand, 
leaped the pickets, and running at his utmost speed, thrust the 
fire into the straw within the barn. One who was an anxious 
spectator of the event says that, although volley upon volley 
was fired at liim, Butler, after making some steps on his wav 



Hidort/ of Jexsamiiif Coimfi/, Kentuchij. 39 

back, turned to see if the tire had taken, and, not being satisfied, 
returned to the barn and set it in a blaze. As the conflagration 
grew, the enemy was seen retreating from the rear of the building, 
which they had entered in one end, as the flames ascended in the 
other. Soon after reaching the pickets in safety amid the shouts 
of his friends, he was struck by a musket ball in his breast. Be- 
lieving, from the pain he felt, that it had penetrated his chest, he 
tin-ned to John M. McCalla, one of his Lexington comrades, and, 
pressing his hand on the spot, said: 'I fear this shot is mortal, 
but while I am able to move I will do my duty.' To the anxious 
inquiries of his friends, who met him soon afterward, he opened 
his vest, with a smile, and showed them that the ball had spent 
itself on the thick wadding of his coat and on his breastbone. He 
suffered, however, for many weeks." 

He Avas a captain in the battle of New Orleans, December 14, 
1814, and on January 8, 1815, was brevetted Major for his gallan- 
try, and (leneral Jackson commendefl his conduct in the highest 
terms. He was an aide on the staiT of General Jackson, in 1816 
and 1 81 7, but resigned to study law. He married a daughter of 
General Robert Todd. He represented Gallatin county in the 
legislature in 1817, was elected to Congress in 1839, and served 
four vears, refusing a re-election. In 1844 he was the Demo- 
cratic candidate for Governor and reduced the Whig majority to 
4. GOO. 

On June 2Q, 1846. President Polk appointed General Butler a 
major general of voltuiteers, and on the same date Zachary Tay- 
lor, major general in the regular army. 

On the 23d of T'ebruary. 1847, the Kentucky legislature pre- 
sented him a sword for his gallantry in ]\Iexico. He bore a dis- 
tinguished part in many of the battles of that war. He was 
wounded in the battle of Alonterey in September, 1846. On Feb- 
ruary' 18, 1848, he succeeded General Scott in the chief com- 
mand of the American army in ]\Iexico, and remained in such po- 
sition until the declaration of peace, ]\Iay 29, 1848. In that year 
he was nominated for Vice-President of the United States on the 
ticket with Gen. Cass; but they were defeated by Taylor and Fill- 
more. He received the full vote of his party for United States 
Senator in 1851, but failed of election. He was one of the six Peace 
Commissioners from Kentuckv in lanuarv. 1861, and thereafter 



40 History of Jessamuie Coiiidi/, Ketducky. 

he remained in the quiet seckision of his home, at Carrolkon, and 
died August 6, 1880, in his 89th year. He rests in a sepulchre 
overlooking the splendid scenery where the waters of the Ken- 
tucky and the Ohio unite — a fit resting-place for him who did so 
much to wrest Ohio and the NortliAvest from the savage and ^o 
make still greater, the renown of the great commonwealth which 
had given him birth. 

He was a man of the highest courage, truest patriotism, noblest 
public spirit, thorough culture and splendid talent. His poem, 
"The Boatman's Horn," induced by the associations and mem- 
ories of his childhood on the Ohio, when listening to the large 
and sonorous horns the boatmen were accustomed to 1:)low to 
announce their coming to the landing places on the river, is a real 
poetic gem : 



The Boat Horn* 

O boatman, wind that horn again, 

For never did the list'ning air 

Upon its lambent bosom bear 
So w^ild, so soft, so sweet a strain. 

What though thy notes are sad and few, 
By every simple boatman blown. 

Yet is each pulse to nature true 
'.'JK^id melody in every tone. 

How oft in boyhood's joyous day, 
Unmindful of the lapsing hours. 

I've loitered on my homeward way 
By wild Ohio's brink of flowers, 

While some lone boatman from the deck 
Poured his soft numbers to that tide. 

As if to charm from storm and wreck 
The boat where all his fortunes ride ! 
Delighted nature drank the sound, 
Enchanted — echo bore it round 
In wdiispers soft, and softer still. 
From hill to plain and plain to hill, 



Hldorij of Je-'^xaimiir Cotoiiij, Kentiickij. 



41 



Till e'en the thoughtless, frolicking boy, 

Elate with hope and wild with joy, 

Who gamboled by the river side 

And sported with the fretting tide. 

Feels something new pervade his ^breast. 

Chain his light step, repress his jest, 

Bends o'er the flood his eager ear 

To catch the sounds, far ofif, yet near — 

Drinks the sweet draught, but knows not why 

The tear O'f rapture fills his eye; 

And can he now, to manhood gTOwn, 

Tell why those notes, simple and lone. 

As on the ravished ear they fell. 

Rind every sense in magic spell? 

There is a tide of feeling given — 

To all on earth — its fountain. Heaven, 

Beginning with the dewy flower 

Just ope'd in Flora's vernal bower. 

Rising creation's orders through 

With louder murmur, brighter hue, 

That tide is sympathv ; its ebb and flow 

Gives life its hues of joy and woe ; 

Music, the master spirit that can move 

Its waves to war. or lull them into love ; 

Can cheer the sinking sailor 'mid the wave 

And bid the soldier on , nor fear the grave ; 

Inspire the fainting pilgrim on his road, 

And elevate his soul to claim his God. 

Then, boatman, wind that horn again! 

Though much of sorrow mark its strain. 

Yet are its notes to sorrow dear. 

What though they wake fond memory's tear; 

Tears are sad memory's sacred feast. 

And rapture oft her chosen guest. 



HOATMANS HORN. 



42 Hi4ovy of Jexxam'ine County, Kentucki/. 



First Settlers. 

John Hunter, Jacob Hunter and Samuel Hunter came to 
Jessamine county in the spring of 1779. Jacob was the oldest 
and was born in 1753. They first stopped at Boonesboro in 1778 
and were employed by Elias Hite, son of Abraham Hite, who 
was at that time engaged in the surveying of lands in Kentucky. 
The father of these young men died at Boonesboro. They had 
two sisters. They had been employed by Mr. Hite as chain- 
carriers, and they all settled close to each other on Hickman 
creek. The following letter shows when they were dismissed : 

Thursday, April i, 1779. 
Dear Father : Dismiss the chain carriers, John Hunter, 
Samuel Hunter and Jacob Hunter ; pay them six shillings per 
day for three months' services on Boone and Hickman creeks. 

Isaac Kite. 

Tell Mr. Douglas to go at once to Boonesboro. 

Here, in 1780, was born Joseph Hunter, who was the first 
white child born in the j^resent 1)oundary of Jessamine 
county. Joseph Hunter lived to be quite an old man. 
He died in 1858. The old home of these first settlers em- 
braced about 900 acres of land, which has now been in cultivation 
120 years and is still fertile and productive. The old house for 
a long time was the property of John Portwood, who was a son- 
in-law of John Hunter. The farm is situated about six miles east 
of Nicholasville on the pike leading to Boone's Ferry. 

When John Portwood died, Dudley Portwood, his son, sold 
a part of the farm containing 200 acres to Jessamine county for 
the erection of a poor house. 

The Hunter homestead \\'as built of brick and is still standing, 
and w^as erected about 1798. One of the bricks in the chimneys 
has this date upon it. 

Jacob Hunter left Jessamine county and went to Owen 
county, where he died after attaining the extreme age of one 
hundred years. 

Samuel Hunter settled some miles above these other two 



Hidorii of Jemunine County, Kentucky. 43 




KENTUCKY PIONEER'S DRESS. 



44 Hi4ory of Je^mmbie Couidij, Kenttickij. 

brothers, on Hickman creek, and they were unquestionably the 
first white men who ever undertook a permanent setdement in 
Jessamine county. They did not build forts or blockhouses, and 
were doubtless driven in about 1782, ^vhen the Indians were so 
determined in their assaults on the Kentuckv settlers. 



Early Settlers on Jessamine Creek. 

The early settlers on Jessamine creek were mostly German 
Protestants who came in large part from Pennsylvania and Mary- 
land, with a few from A'irginia. The following- letter written by 
Dr. Peter Trisler to Rev. David Zeisberger in 1794, from Jessa- 
mine county, will prove valuable, historically : 

Jessamine Creek, September 4, 1794 
Dear David : I am exceedingly sorry that you did not come 
along with your father during his recent visit to this delightful 
country. The sun shines brighter in this country, and the skies 
are more blue, than the damp, moist atmosphere at the mouth of 
the Cuyahoga. A good school is needed among us, and I invite 
you once more to leave that inhospitable country of savages and 
cold winds. 

Faithfully yours, 

Peter Trisler. 

From most reliable records Rev. Jacob Rhorer was the founder 
of the first Moravian church on Jessamine creek, in 1794, and 
the building was used as a Moravian church by the Rhorer family 
up to near the beginning of the Civil AVar. 

The following are the names of the early settlers who were of 
German parentage and belonged to the Moravian Church, or 
"United Brethren" : Arnspigers, Alcorns, Cormans, Bowmans, 
Bruners, Earthenhousers, Easleys, Funks, Fraziers, Growls, Gil- 
mans, Goforths, HifTners, Howsers. Harbaughs, Horines, Rit- 
ters, Rices, Masners, Zikes, Ketrons, Waggamans. Warmslys, 
Overstreets, Quests, Yosts, Hoovers, Trislers, Turks, Turpins, 
Shreves, Veatches, \"antresses. Naves, Cogars. Crows. Cooleys, 
Cawbys, and Schmidts. Nearly all of these names were in the 
list of German settlers in the western part of Jessamine county, 



Hidortj of Jessamhie County, Kentncky. 45 

who were largely the followers of John Huss. They were men 
of great common sense, good judgment, honesty, a high sense 
of morality, and great lovers of freedom, and their descendants 
still reside in that part of Jessamine county which their ancestors 
in the early history of the state settled. 

In 1884 John Cawby had a fjible which was printed at Wit- 
tenberg in 1440. This Bible was brought from Germany to 
Maryland in 1780, by Peter Trisler, who, in 1794, settled in the 
present limits of Jessamine count}', where h^ died April 22, 1821. 
This old Bible was the property of l\Irs. Nancy Horine, who was 
a grandaughter of Dr. Trisler. 

Dr. Peter Trisler was born in Wittenberg, Germany, in 1745. 
He came to Hagerstown, Maryland, when a very young man, 
and settled on Jessamine creek in 1791. When he came from 
Germany he brought the old Bible above referred to, and this 
book contained records of a large number of the families above 
named. From this stock German settlers have gone through- 
out the West and South, and they usually became men of thrift, 
energy, character and brains. Some now in Illinois and manv in 
Missouri have carried away with them the splendid qualities of 
these early settlers, and in their new homes have shown the 
sterling qualities of their ancestors, who did so much to create and 
promote the best interests of the new state they helped to found 
in the then wilderness of Kentucky. 

Names of those who settled in other parts of Jessamine from 
1782 to the close of the century: 

Archibald Bristow ; Manoah Singleton; Elder Michael Rice; 
Jacob Howser; David Watson, Sr. ; Jacob Sedowski, afterward 
removed to Bourbon county; James McKinney ; Jeremiah King; 
Col. Jos. Crockett; A1)raham Howser; Jacob Rhorer; John 
Welch; Jacob Bruner; James Overstreet; Chris. ]Mason ; Wm. 
Moss; Jno. Thornton; Patrick W'atson ; Fielding Pilcher; Shad- 
rach Pilcher; Samuel Rice; Minor Young; Rev. Jno. Hudson; 
Jeremiah Dickerson ; Wm. Fletcher; Wm. Bowman; John 
I'wo Nine Scott; Col. Byrd Prewitt ; Jno. Johnson; Jno. Lowry; 
Thos. Caldwell; Col. Geo. Walker; John Lewis; James Duncan; 
Chas. Duncan ; Jonas E)avenport ; James McCabe ; Jacob Rice ; 
Rev. Nathaniel Harris; Col. Wm. Price; Col. Jno. Price; Major 



46 History of Jemamine County, Kentucky. 

Netherland ; Benj. Blackford; Benj. Adams; Jno. Todd; Robt. 
Campbell ; Abraham Cassell ; Francis Lowers ; Thos. Shanklin ; 
Kobt. Shanklin: Daniel Mitchell; Thomas Rowland; Thomas 
Overstreet. 



Black^s Station. 

, It is strange that, from the time of the settlement at Harrods- 
burg in 1774 down to 1779, there were no stations established in 
Jessamine county. In Mercer, Boyle, Fayette, Woodford, Mad- 
ison, Scott and Franklin, numerous stations were erected, but 
with all the richness of the land in Jessamine county, none came 
to found a fort within its midst. There were surveys made in the 
county during this time, one of which, the Abram Hite survey of 
2,000 acres on Marble creek, was both permanent and important, 
and discussed in the fort at Harrodsburg in 1774 and 1775. A 
Mr. Black established a station on what is known as the G. B. 
Bryan farm, half way between Nicholasville and Brookline on 
the Harrodsburg turnpike. It was on the old trace which led 
through the county along the waters of Jessamine creek to the 
w^aters of South Elkhorn. There were several large boiling 
springs in the locality, and as these were always in demand for 
settlements. Black located his station there. It was composed of 
several cabins, and the land was originally part of what is known 
as the "Craig Survey," and was subsequently owned by Archibald 
Logan, who was a rich tanner and had an establishment in Lex- 
ington. 

Logan conveyed this land to his daughter, Airs. Hord, when 
he left Jessamine county in 182Q. and the house known as the 
Patterson House is where Logan lived. Mrs. Hord conveyed 
the place to her daughter. Mrs. Worley. and she conveyed it to 
others, and it is now ow^ned by the Bryan's heirs. 

Beginning with 1783, this station became quite an important 
one, and was one of the stopping places for those who followed 
the trace from Mercer and Boyle to Franklin and Woodford 
counties. The difificulty in obtaining water in this general section 
was very great, and Joel Watkins, in his diary, says : June 24 — 
"Forded river at mouth of Hickman ; after travelling seven or 
eight miles on the road that leads from the river to Lexington I 



HIstori/ of Jessamuie CoKHttj, Kcntiwkii. 47 

turned to the left of said road and crossed a water course called 
East Jessamine ; after leaving- the said creek, the land is very level 
and of a very pretty mulatto soil and the growth is black and white 
oak, hickory, and some walnut and sugar trees, and the under- 
growth ha/cl nut and red bud, till I arrived at West Jessamine. I 
proceeded up said river to head, the land altering as I proceeded 
up said creek until I came near the head springs, the land there 
appearing very rich till I struck the waters of South Elkhorn. 
This day I passed several good farms, and especially John Craig's, 
badlv watered between the two Jessamines, so much so that 
people settled only along the said creeks." This scarcity of 
water was doubtless one of the reasons for establishing the sta- 
tion at Black's. 

Watkins says August i8. 1889: "Passed Dick's river at Mc- 
Guir's, from thence we proceeded to Curd's Ferry on Kentucky, 
which is at the mouth of Dick's river — the latter we forded — 
(here the clitts are of amazing heig'ht); we proceeded towards 
Lexington about eight miles ; we turned to the left of said road 
past Black Station on the waters of Clear creek, proceeded on- 
ward, the land lying very well, but the growth indicating the rock 
being nigh the surface of the earth ; we crossed several forks of 
Clear creek ; we came to Captain Woodfolk's mentioned on page 
22 ; from this place the land continued very slightly, both soil and 
Growth, to Mr. Watkins'. at which place we arrived about dark — ■ 
received very kindly." 

He also says. August 24: "Monday, after breakfast witli 
Mr. W.. set out for the south side of Kentucky river, agreeing 
with the aforesaid gentleman at parting to keep up a literary cor- 
respondence, past Black Station again and crossed the two 
forks of Jessamine and arrived at Kentucky river at the mouth of 
Hickman, wliich 1 forded, and arrived at Mr. Walker's at two 
hours besun." 

It will be seen that the trace along b}- r>lack"s Station was the 
read usually traveled by those who passed from (iarrard and 
I\Iercer and Boyle to Woodford and Franklin. 

Another station in Jessamine county was built by Levi Todd 
a little northwest of Keene — its exact location can not now be de- 
termined — it, is. however, laid down upon Filson's map. but was 
abandoned. This was a fort. The road from Harrodsburg to 



48 H'ldonj of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 

Lexington doubtless passed by Black's Station, and from 
this on to Todd's Station. There was also another route 
by which they crossed the river to the moutli of Hick- 
man, followed Hickman for some distance, and then 
turned northeast towards Lexing'ton, then their route fol- 
lowed Hickman for several miles, then struck East Jessamine 
and followed it to its Head at Mrs. Horine's on the Southern Rail- 
road, about a mile east of Nicholasville, and from this over to the 
headwaters of Jessamine, and from this along the general route 
of the Lexington and Harrodsburgh turnpike to Lexington. 
This is shown by deposition of David Williams, which was filed 
in the case of Manson's Executors vs. Craig Williams, in which 
Williams deposes as follows : 

"He was well acquainted with Hickman's creek from a small 
distance above the survey, 'Abram Hite,' to the head of the creek, 
and that the east fork of Jessamine was as-well known to the peo- 
ple of Harro'dsburg as Hickman's creek was. The east fork of 
Jessamine lay more out of the course generally taken by hunters 
in traveling from Harrodsburg to the waters of the Licking; they 
commonly fell on main Jessamine above the mouth of East Fork ■, 
thence up the main Jessamine spring; thence crossing the waters 
of Hickman to Boone's creek, and over to the head of Stroud's 
creek, where there were roads leading down most of its branches 
to the Salt Licks. It was also common to pass by main Jessa- 
mine above the East Eork and by Todd's station on the waters 
of Hickman to go to tlie headwaters of South and North Elkhorn. 
This deponent, with others, frequently took this road to avoid 
large canebrakes." 

The Last Indians. 

The high clififs, covered with dense forests of cedar and other 
timber, along the Kentucky river, and their utter inaccessibility, 
rendered them excellent hiding places for the Indians who dis- 
turbed the settlers as late as the end of 1792. No great incur- 
sion of the Indians into Kentucky happened after thebattle of Blue 
Licks, in 1782, but predatory bands, consisting of four or five 
meri hers, both from the south 'and from the north, gave the set- 
tlers o"reat disturbance and uneasiness and murdered a gfreat 



Hlxtonj of ,Jt's.-<(iiii!iif (nit lit 11, Keiifuckij. 4!l 

many ^\()men and children. Shortl}' after the battle of l>lue Licks 
the people abandoned the forts and scattered otU in their log 
cabins over the state. Fear of Indian raids had been removed 
and the immense tide of settlers which came into the state dur- 
ing this period took up lands in every part, but as late as 1792 
many people were killed in Garrard. Lincoln, Madison and Jessa- 
mine. On July 6, 1793, Major Benjamin Netherland wrote the 
following letter to Governor Shelb}-, which gives a contemporane- 
ous account of these troubles : 

"Mingo Tavern, Fayette county. Ky., 

"July 6, 1792. 
"To His Excellency, Isaac Shelby. 

"(Tovernor of Kentucky: 

"Dear Sir — Your letter cf the 2gth of June, was handed to me 
on yesterday by John Wilson. I tender to }-ou my hearty, warm 
thanks for the good opinion you express concerning my poor 
services in the defense of our beloved cotmtry. To enjoy your 
confidence and friendship may well be considered a distinguished 
honor, and I shall at all times consider it a pleasure to he of serv- 
ice to you. 

There have but few depredations occurred in these parts of the 
countv. Last year it was reported three men were killed by a 
])arty of Shawnees. They were pursued, overtaken and two of 
them were killed the following day at Boonesboro. About three 
months ag'O two Indians crossed the Kentucky at the mouth of ti)e 
Dix river, and came among the settlers, as they said, for trading. 
I was not pleased at seeing such treacherous enemies, and gave 
orders to Tom Lewis and his father to keep a watch on them. 
They spoke English very well and were trying to make the im- 
pression that they were our best friends. \\'hen they left the 
next morning they met one of the settlers named ^Michael Hififner, 
who had been to see Thomas Rowland, who settled on a planta- 
tion some miles above. The Indians told Hififner he must let 
them have his horse. This he refused, when he heard the snap of 
a gun. He at once jumped from the horse and stabbed the In- 
dian to the heart. He then turned upon the other, who shot him 
in the ami and ran ofT into the timber. Hififner, being a good In- 
dian fighter and a brave and active man. pursued him. and before 
i 



50 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 

the Indian could reload his gun Hififner caught him and knocked 
his brains out with a club, and threw his body down the high 
cliffs into the river. The body of the Indian he stabbed to death 
was buried. A party of Wyandots killed a man at the mouth of 
Jessamine last spring. At the various crossings Indian tracks 
have been discovered. At Paint Lick two years ago two men 
were killed by this same party of Indians. It is my opinion that 
if 50 mounted men were employed to scour the Kentucky river 
cliffs during the fall, I feel sure no more of our people would be 
ambushed and killed. These hills and cliffs. Major Whitley says, 
are good hiding places for Indians to do us much injury. I must 
urge you to appoint Tom Wilson captain and lieutenant of this end 
of the county. He is young and active and can run like the wind, 
and such service would be in keeping with his nature, which is 
daring and full of adventure. I would seek the place myself, 
but I have so long neglected my private affairs that it would be 
ruinous for me to put my affairs into the hands of others, who seek 
their own interest to the neglect of mine, besides I have now the 
high and responsible duties of husband and father, which I can 
not throw aside without doing great injustice to the innocent who 
look to me for protection as husband and father. 
"Your old friend, 

" B. Netherland." 

All sorts of "varmints"' were plentiful in the days of the early 
settlers. Bears and rattlesnakes were in great abundance. On 
the farm of Mr. Alexander Willoughby, near Sulphur Well, one 
of the great curiosities was a place known as "Rattlesnake Spring." 
When the land was first settled this spring was a great resort for 
these snakes. The water issued from a large crevice in a lime- 
stone rock, overlaid by a bold bank. Near the spring was a 
cave. Major Netherland, who visited the place in 1796, says: 
"In the fall of the year they w'ould crawl from the cave to the 
spring and enter the crevice of the rock, where they remained 
torpid during the winter. When the warmth of spring revived 
them they would emerge from the crevice and the cave and bask 
in the warm sun. At this season they fell an easy prey to the 
destroyer. Henry Allsman, wdio is now^ living on this portion of 
Mr. Willoughby's land, told me he and his family have killed 



Hidorij of Je>^!<ainine Coiodi/, Kentacki/. 51 

hundreds of them in the last week. He would pile them up on a 
log- heap and Ijurn them. By this wholesale slaughter, this enemy 
of God and man was extirpated, and in another season of spring 
and summer nothing- will ren-iain of that representative of the 
transgression but his hateful name." 

The man Allsman here referred to was the father of the no- 
torious Andrew Allsman, who caused General McNeil to shoot 
ten innocent n-ien at Palymra, Mo. He was born on this farm in 
1805 and left home in 1829. Allsman boasted on the streets of 
Palmvra of causing the death of these men. The next day after 
he made this dreadful confession his dead l)ody was found himg 
and i-iddled with bullets. He had been put to death by Col. Joe 
Porter's i-i-ien in the neiuhborhood. 



The First Powder Mill 

Erected in Jessamine county was located on Hickman 
creek, near the old Union Mill. The old powder houses remained 
there as late as the year 1850. These powder mills were owned 
by Richard Lafifoon, but the powder house was erected by Robert 
Crockett, and after he left the country, it fell into the hands of 
the Laffoons. It was stn^ck by lightning and destroyed in 1837. 

The first paper mill in Jessamine, was erected on Jessamine 
creek at the old Glass ^lills by Thomas r)ryan in 1837, ^""^^ 'i^ 
carried it on until 1848. 

The first burr mill-stones ever imported to Jessamine, came 
from France in 1837. '^"'^^ were used by Bryan in w"hat is known as 
the Henrv Glass Mills. 



The First Mill. 

The first mill built in Jessamine county was constructed by 
■Meredith Wright, father of Mr. Robert Wright, who still lives 
in Nicholasville at the advanced age of eighty-one years. Mere- 
dith Wright was the first millwright in the state, and the mill he 
built was Haydon's Mill, afterward run by Mr. Gavin Steele. 
Mr. Wright also built the Union Mills and the Torbett Mills. 
He was amone: the earliest settlers in Kentuckv, and came from 



IHMiirtj i)f Jr.inaiii'Dlt' Out lit i/, Keidiicl-ij. 53 

Culpeper Courthouse, iu \ irj^iuia, and immediately settled in 
Jessamine county. His mills were used generally by the early 
settlers, and the one used by David Trabue in Jessamme coimtv 
was among- the first and nu)st primitive. The process of grind- 
ing' was very slow : each man's or boy's grist was ground in its 
turn, and sometimes a wait of twelve hc^urs was required before 
the flour could be taken home. 

Thomas Berry, brother of Joseph and Lewis Berrv, ran the 
paper mill on Jessamine creek, where the character of paper made, 
was good for the opporttmities of manufacture. It was deep 
blue and broadly lined, but it was smooth, with a good polish, 
and held the marks distinctly. 

In 1825 James Wilson owned and ran a powder mill on Clear 
creek. The power used was horse power, and the mortars and 
pestles were operated by this jiower. Powder was then worth 
$1 a pound. 

At this time a fine flour mill was operated also on Clear creek 
by ^Ir. Campbell Steele, who was the grandfather of Wm. L. 
Steele, of Xicholasville, and ]\Ir. John Steele; and a hominy mill 
was operated by Samuel Rufifner on Clear creek. The pestles 
were operated by horse power. 



Early Houses. 

House building in Jessamine county in early days was not a 
very expensive or protracted work. The houses were rude and 
simple structures of hewn logs and the chinks stopped with mud 
or filled with stone and then plastered with mud on the otitside. 
Idle roof w"as made of clap-boarding about three feet long and 
four inches wide, and along these were placed poles supported 
by blocks of wood and these were weighted so as to hold the clap- 
boarding in place. There was rarely more than one window, 
which was at the side of the door. In early daAS it had no glass 
but w'as closed by a wooden shutter made of heavy oak boards. 
The floors were made of logs or puncheons hewed smooth on one 
side with an adze. The logs were generally split to a convenient 
size and length, and then hewed flat. The doors were made of 
riven boards fastened together with wooden pins to wooden 



Hixfort/ of Jesxainiw Coioifi/, Koitiickij. 55 

slabs. Ihese doors always had the latch on the inside and a 
hole was bored above the latch about 4 inches, throiiii^h which a 
leathern stringy passed and so fastened to the latch on the in- 
side. When this string was taken in there was no way to open 
the door from the outside. In the morning the string was passed 
l)ack from the inside so that any party who desired to enter could 
raise the latch. P>om this comes the Kentucky proclamation of 
hospitality, "You will always find the latch-string on the outside." 
The chimne\s were made of logs plastered with mtid. The back 
and jambs were either covered with mud or stones were placed 
on the inside to keep the heat from setting them on fire. The 
fire places were often 10 or 12 feet wide, and while they consumed 
an enormous quantity of wood, they made jolly good fires, which 
lent cheerfulness and comfort to the whole hotise. Weather- 
boarding was not ttsed until about 1815. Some of these houses 
are still standing in the county, and in some of the brick houses 
which were erected in early times, the doors were made withotit 
nails. ( )ne of the earliest brick houses erected in Jessamine 
count V was that of ^\'illiam Shreve, which was l)tiilt in 1793 and is 
now owned by Mrs. John Simms, a short distance west of the Cin- 
cinnati Southern depot, and it is still in a good state of preserva- 
tion. 

The First Vineyard. 

John Frances DeFoure was a native of \'evay, Switzerland, 
and planted the first vineyard west of the Alleghanies, in Jessa- 
mine countv in 1796. The land was patented by William Hazel- 
rigg in 1785. The place is ten miles southeast of Nicholasville, 
and is the land on which Col. IVrcival Butler lived when Gen. 
^^'m. O. Butler was born in 1791. Col. Percival Butler had 
moved to this section because the Indians were less dangerous 
than in the northwest territory. The DeFoures, purchased the 
land from Colonel Hazelrigg, who lived and died in Bourbon 
countv. They afterwards settled in \^evay, Indiana, and named 
the county Switzerland. They were very successful in Indiana, 
and became very wealthy. The deed and agreement between 
the DeFoures and Hazelrigg is recorded in Deed Book i. page 
34. in the Jessamine county clerk's office. 



Hi4ori/ of ,h'.-<x(())iiiif' (hioifi/, Keiitiickij. 57 

The land chosen did not suit the varieties of the grape in- 
troduced. Hybridizing and crossing had not yet developed the 
excellent varieties of grapes which can now be grown in all parts 
of the United States. The European grapes were not adapted to 
the soil of Kentucky. All other fruits in the early settlement of 
the state, were produced in perfection. The cherries from \lr- 
ginia and Pennsylvania, the apples and peaches from A'irginia 
and North Carolina, and the pears from A^irginia grew with 
marvelous rapiditv, and were free from all diseases, and in twenty 
years after the settlement of Kentucky magnificent orchards were 
abundant in all parts of the Commonwealth. The Janet or 
Jeniton, the Limber Twig, the Horse apple, the Spice apple, the 
Pryor Red, Morton's I'earmain. the summer apple, propagated 
by slips brought over the mountains or produced from seed; found 
in the virgin soil of Kentucky, a vigor and an abuiidance of 
crops which satisfied the fullest wants of the new communities ; 
but the grapes found wild in the forests of either Mrginia or Ken- 
tucky were not utilized, or domesticated, and for a long while but 
few grapes were grown. 

The Kentucky Mneyard Association was organized in Lex- 
ington in 1799, and seven hundred and fifty acres of land "lying 
in the big bend of the Kentucky river near the mouth of Hick- 
man creek," were secured as the site for planting the vineyard. 
Great expectations were created. There was supposed to be no 
limit to the products and production of the state and if Europe 
could grow grapes, it was confidently assimied Kentucky could do 
likewise an'd better. The announcement of the association de- 
clared that, "in dess than four years, wine may be drunk on the 
banks of the Kentucky, produced from the European stock." 

The experiment was a dismal failure. Down in the swamps 
of Xorth Carolina on the banks of the Catawba river was then 
growing the splendid Cata^vba grape and on the islands in James 
river in the midst of the forests and dense thickets the Norton's 
A a. (A'irginia seedling) was yearly producing prolific crops, 
either of which, if transplanted to Kentucky, would have pro- 
duced a vintage which would have done all the promoters of the 
Kentucky A'ineyard Association desired and prophesied, but 
these early grape growers went to Europe rather than unto the 



History of Jessamine ('ountij, Kentucky. 59 

forests of America for their plants, and misfortunes were the 
result. 

Another vineyard was started by some Swiss settlers on the 
banks of Jessamine creek near the Crozier Mill, but these, after 
some ^ears of cultivation of the European varieties, abandoned 
their vines and homes and sought success in more congenial 
climes. 

James DeFoure, who was at the liead of the vineyard at 
mouth of Hickman creek, after his failure there, had the sagacity 
to discover that the Euroj^ean varieties were not adapted to this 
portion of the country. Alexander, a gardener for (jovernor 
Penn, had proi)agate(l before the war of the Revolution, a grape 
now called by his name, which was thought to be the celebrated 
grape of the Constantia colony from the Cape of Good Hope, 
but which in realit}' was a native variety. It was called also the 
Cape grape. DeFoure planted this vine at \ evay, Ind., and made 
the first successful attempt to establish a vineyard in America. 
His experiments in Jessamine county at least showed him the 
true path to success and wealth at Vevay. 



Kentucky Pioneers. 

God always provides men for occasions. In emergencies 
thev invariably arise to fill the measure of the hour. Men are 
fashioned by their surroundings and they must be judged by the 
same standard. 

The settlement of Kentucky and it- wresting from the savage, 
made an unusual demand upon the Ruler of the Universe. It 
required a man unknown in the past history of the human race. 
It nmst be a man devoid of fear, filled with love of adventure, 
^\•ith an instinct of freedom as strong as that of the eagle ; as self- 
reliant as the king of beasts, as hospitable as the Aral) — who in 
the mighty desert des])ises the yoke of the oppressor and who pro- 
tects with his life the guest who sits at his board ; as patriotic as 
the Roman, as enterprising as the Carthaginian, as fearless as the 
Saxon, as defiant of death as the Turk ; and, with all these, the 
subtle instincts of the Indian and his heroism under misfortune. 

The A'irginia cavalier, with his superb gallantry, ennobled bv 



60 Hlxtortj of Jesmmi)if County, Kentnckij. 

his lofty, gentlemanly instincts, would not meet the requirements. 
The Pennsylvania settler, with his indomitable patience and un- 
failing courage, fell short of the demands, and the sturdy Scotch- 
Irishman of North Carolina, with his unquenchable love of free- 
dom backed by his superb bravery and uplifted by his abiding 
faith in God, was not equal to what the time and circumstances 
exacted of the men who should undertake the seemingly impos- 
sible task of conquering Kentucky. 

As we turn backward one hundred years to commemorate the 
character, lives and virtues of our forefathers and to understand 
their sacrifices, their valor and their splendid achievements, 
let us briefly picture their surroundings. 

These Kentucky pioneers were to conquer a land four hundred 
miles away from help or succor. It was an untrodden forest, 
with no roads or path except such as the bufifalo in his migrations 
had trampled through the canebrake, or beasts of prey had 
traced in their seach for food. It had no human inhabitants, 
and its defense was by common consent imposed upon the sav- 
age red men, who claimed as their lands that vast country which 
stretches from the great lakes in the Northwest to the waters of 
the Tennessee, the Cumberland. ( )hio, and Mississippi rivers ; 
covering an area of over 300,000 square miles. No survey had 
marked its lines ; he who traversed the solitude and depths of the 
forest must rely upon the stars, or nature's marks upon the trees, 
as his guide. All supplies must be carried on pack-horses or 
pack-men ; powder and lead were to be transported over six 
hundred miles ; not a single blade of wheat or stalk of corn as yet 
had sprung from its virgin and fertile soil. He who entered its 
domain must always be prepared to meet an alert, savage, brave 
and merciless foe. The cooing of the babe, the wail of defense- 
less women, or the appeal of the helpless prisoner, found no 
sympathy or response in the foe who defended this land. Death 
by the tomahawk or at the stake was the punishment the In- 
dian meted to those who invaded his beloved hunting ground. 
As he asked and expected no quarter for himself, he gave none to 
his white foe. By day and by night the merciless warfare was 
to be waged. The coming of the morning sun only quickened 
and vitalized anew his ibarbarous plans, and its departure at night 



Hidorij of Jexsamhie County, Keutucki/. 01 

only gave time for more relentless resolve to drive out the in- 
truder. 

What race, what country, could produce men for such a task? 

The settlement of Kentucky and its possession and the main- 
tenance of the white man's supremacy was a part of God's plan to 
make the colonies free and to form in America a republic — a 
government of the people by the people, which was to be the great 
beacon light of freedom and the vanguard of mankind for the 
establishment in the world of true national liberty. 

The thousand pioneers flung out into the wilds of Kentucky, 
with their log stations and forts, close by the homes of the savages, 
whom England was arming and teaching to slay white men and 
white women and white children — with their skill as woodsmen, 
with their courage as soldiers, and with their endurance as 
frontiersmen, and with their fierce hatred of the barbarous In- 
dians, were worth ten thousand men on the Atlantic under leaders 
as great as even Washington, Greene, or La Fayette. 

These Kentucky pioneers stayed savage invasion of Virginia 
and Pennsylvania. They kept back the herd of marauders and 
murderers, which in the wilds of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, 
Icnged for an opportunity to imbrue their hands in white men's 
blood, and the savage wrath which would have poured itself with 
irresistible tide over the settlements of the upper Ohio, Monon- 
gehela and the Kanawha, turned its savage and bitter force upon 
the stations in Kentucky. The thousands of brave and noble 
men, and still braver women, who from 1775 to 1783, died in the 
Kentucky wilderness, surrendered their lives to protect A^ir- 
ginia and Pennsylvania and stood the red men at bay, while the 
colonists were enabled to fight and defeat the British soldiers 
along the Atlantic coast. 



Creation of the County of Jessamine. 

1798 was the banner year for the creation of new counties. 
In 1792 seven had been fomied, in 1793, one; in 1794 two, in 
1796 six had been formed, and in 1798 thirteen were made, of 
which Jessamine was one, and the thirty-sixth in the state. It 
was carved entirely out of Fayette, and given one representative 



62 Hhtori/ of Jefixamine Comdij, Keiducky. 

in the Legislature; while Fayette county retained six representa- 
tives, the number to which it had before the separation been en- 
titled. The inequality of representation had not then been so 
fully recognized as afterwards. The whole population of Fay- 
ette county at the time of the division was about 18,000. Jessa- 
mine took ofT at least one-fourrh of the population of Fayette and 
was given one member, while Fayette, wnth only three times the 
population of newly made Jessamine, had six, or twice the voice 
in legislation that was given her newly sent out daughter. 

The creation of some counties was fought for years, but that 
of Jessamine produced but little hai-d feeling. Fayette had al- 
ways been generous in the partition of territory. With 264,000 
acres, after some protesting and legislative discussion, she sur- 
rendered 101,000 of it to create another county. Doubtless the 
retention of her six representatives had something to do with 
accjuiescence in the division. 

The men in the Senate those days, were men of wide, broad 
views. They were chosen not by districts, but from the state at 
large by the Commission formed for that purpose under the terms 
of the Constitution of 1792. The Senate then consisted of only 
eleven members. The Senator representing Favette was James 
Campbell. Tn the House, Col. Rol)t. Patterson, John McDowell, 
John Parker, Walter Carr, Thos. Caldwell. McGregor, 

These were wide-gauge men, and private interest was subordi- 
nated to public interest and local benefit. 

The real cause leading up to the formation of the Cvounty. was 
some friction between the officers of Fayette county and the peo- 
ple in the Marble creek neighborhood. 

New counties were already being rapidly formed. Starting 
with nine in 1792, by the beginning of the session of 1798, sixteen 
new ones had been created, five of which — Scott, Shelby, Clark, 
Franklin and Montgomery — had been created close to Fayette. 

Col. John Price was then a resident of the Marble creek dis- 
trict and he set about securing the formation of a new county. 
His influence with the Revolutionary soldiers, who then consti- 
tuted so large a share of the legislators, was very strong. The 
battle over the act (creating the new county) continued from No- 
vember 15 to December 19, 1798. 

The journal of the House shows that the petition for the act. 



Hixtori/ (if Jcxmiiihir County. Kentucki/. 63 

signed liy the citizens demanding suoh an act, was on November 
9, 1798, read and referred to the proper committee. The copy of 
the record and the extracts from the minutes of the Palla(hum 
teU the story of the struggle. They are as follows : 

Journal. 

Page 24. Thursday, November 15, 1798. 

Resolved, that the petition of sundry inhabitants of Fayette 
countv. whose names are thereunto sul)scribed. setting forth 
that thev labor under great inconveniences from their detached 
situation from their present seat of justice; and praying that the 
said county may be divided, agreeably to certain lines therein 
proposed, is reasonable. 

The said resolution being read, was ordered to lie on the table. 

Pages 8o-8r. Tuesday, December 18, 1798. 

Several petitions from sundry inhabitants of Fayette county, 
in opposition to the division thereof, were presented and ordered 
to lie on the table until the end of the present session. 

The house then took up the bill for the division of Fayette 
county. 

Page 85. Wednesday, December 19, 1798. 

Mr. Slaughter, from the joint committee of enrollments, re- 
ported that the committee had examined the enrolled bill entitled 
"An act for the division of Fayette county," and that the same 
was truly enrolled. Whereupon the speaker signed the said en- 
rolled bill. 

Ordered, that Mr. Slaugfhter inform the senate thereof. 



Extracts from the Minutes of the Kentucky Legislature 
of J 798, in the Palladium. 

November 9, 1798. A petition from Fayette praying for a 
division of that county, was read and referred to the proper com- 
mittee. 

November 20. Several reports w-ere made and the following 
petitions were read and referred to the committee on propositions 



64 History of Jexmminf (hiiiitji, Kentuchj. 

and grievances : A petition praying that a division of Fayette 
county may not take place. 

November 23. The foUowing biUs were reported and read a 
first time : A bill for the division of Fayette. 

November 24. In committee of the whole went through the 
bill for the division of Fayette, which, after some amendments, was 
ordered to be referred. 

November 26. A bill for the division of Fayette was read a 
third time and passed. Yeas 24, Nays 15. 

December 4. Concurred in the senate's amendments to the 
bill for the division of Fayette. 

December 18. Several petitions from P'ayette against the 
division of that county, were laid on the table to the end of the 
session. 

Took up the bill for the division of h^ayette with the governor's 
objections, which were agreed to. 

Some very important assistance must have been rendered in 
securing the necessary legislation tor the creation of the county 
by Col. Joseph H. Daveiss; for, in a letter written to him eight 
months after the passage of the act, Col. John Price pro- 
ceeds to thank Colonel Davis for his services in this regard. 

At this time Colonel Daveiss was a resident of Frankfort and 
later was United States District Attorney for Kentucky. 



Extracts from Acts of the Legislature. 

CHAPTER CNLIIL 

An Act for the Division <)i I-'a^-ette County. 

Approved December 19, 1798. 

Section i. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That from 
and after the first day of February next, all that part of the coun- 
ty of Fayette, included in the following bounds, to wit : Begin- 
ning on the Woodford line, where it strikes the Kentucky river, 
near Todd's ferry ; thence along said line half a mile north of John 
Allin's military survey; thence to the seven-mile tree, on Curd's 
road ; thence to the eight-mile tree on Tate's creek road ; thence 
along said last mentioned road to the Kentucky river; thence 



History of Jexmmine County, Kentucky. 65 

down the Kentucky river to the beginning, shall be one distinct 
county, and called and known by the name of Jessamine. 

Sec. 2. A court for the said county shall be held by the Jus- 
tices thereof, on the fourth Monday in every month (except those 
in which the court of quarter sessions are hereafter directed to be 
held) after said division shall take place, in like manner, as is 
provided by law in respect to other counties, and as shall be by 
their commissions directed. 

Sec. 3. The Justices to be named in the commission of the 
peace for the said county of Jessamine, shall meet at the house of 
Fisher Rice, in the said county, on the first court day after said 
division shall take place, and having taken the oaths prescribed 
by law, and a sheriff being legally qualified to act, the justice-^ 
shall proceed to appoint and qualify a clerk, and shall, together 
with the Justices of the court of quarter sessions for said county, 
fix upon a place for holding courts therein ; then the courts shall 
proceed to erect the public buildings m such place ; and until such 
buildings are completed, shall appoint such place for holding 
courts as they may think proper ; provided, always, that the ap- 
pointment of a place for erecting the public buildings shall not be 
made unless a majority of the Justices of the said courts concur 
therein. 

Sec. 4. It shall be lawful for the sheriff of the county of Fay- 
ette to collect and make distress for any public dues or officers' 
fees, which shall remain unpaid by the inhabitants of the county 
at the time of such division, and shall be accountable for the 
same in like manner as if this act had not been made. 

Sec. 5. The court of Fayette shall have jurisdiction in all ac- 
tions or suits in law or equity, that shall be depending therein at 
the time of such division, and shall try and determine the same. 
issue process ,and award execution thereon. 

Sec. 6. The court of quarter session for the said county of 
Jessamine, shall be held, annually, on the fourth Monday in Jan- 
uary, March, July and October. 

Sec. 7. The said county of Jessamine shall send one repre- 
sentative to the General Assembly, and the county of Fayette 
shall retain six representatives. 

This act shall commence and be in force from and after the 
passage thereof. 
5 



()6 Hidory of Jes^mmine Conniij, Kcntiickii. 

f>om \'ol. XI. of the Statute Law of Kentucky, printed at 
Frankfort in 1810. 

CHAPTER CCllI. 

An Act to Amend the Act, Entitled "An Act for the Division of 

Fayette County." 

Approved December 19, 1799. 

Whereas, it is represented to this General Assembly, that 
disputes have arisen between the inhabitants of the counties of 
Fayette and J essamine, in ascertaining the true line of division ; an',1 
also in the collection and manner of appropriating that part of the 
levy w'hich was levied by the County Court of Fayette, on the in- 
habitants now in the county of Jessamine ; for remedy whereof — 

Section i. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, that the 
dividing line run by the surveyor of Jessamine county, is hereby 
ratified and confirmed. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, that the County Courts of 
Fayette and Jessamine, shall, on their respective parts, in the 
month of March, next, appoint, each, a commissioner, who are 
hereby authorized to examine the records of Fayette count}^, and 
enquire into the situation of levies and appropriations heretofore 
made by the County Court of Fayette ; and if upon such examina- 
tion, it shall appear to the said commissioners, that there is, or 
otight to be. a deposit, amounting to more than the claims given 
into the said County Court of Fayette, the said court of Fayette is 
hereby required to pay to the court of Jessamine county, for the 
use of said county, their proportion of said deposit. 

This act shall commence and be in force from and after the 
first day of February next. 

The establishment of the new county demanded a name. 

Up to this time the thirty-five counties created had all been 
named for soldiers, pioneers, or a statesman, with one exception, 
and that was Ohio county, the thirty-fiftli. which w-as named for 
the great river which marks the northern boundary of Kentucky 
for 700 miles and had been called by the Indians, the Ohio. "The 
Beautiful River." Cumberland was called for Cumberland river, 
l:)Ut the river had before been named by Dr. Thos. Walker for the 
Duke of Cumberland. Such names as Jefferson. Fa3^ette (La 



Hidoni i[f Jcxxanilitc ('ountij, Kentiirl-ij. (J7 

Fayette), Lincoln, Nelson, 3*Iercer, Madison, Mason, Woodford, 
Washington, Scott, Shelby, Logan, Clark, Hardin, Greene, 
Franklin, Campbell, lUillitt, Christian, Bracken, Warren, Gar- 
rard, Fleming, Pulaski, Pendleton, Boone, Henr}', Gallatin, and 
]\Iuhlenberg, represented a full share of the patriotism, glory, 
l^raverv, \\isdoni and exploits of the people of the United States 
prior to 1798, and, with so many great heroes still unrewarded, it 
required both determination and courage to break away from the 
long line of precedents and call the county by the sim])le and 
l^eautiful name of a flower. 

To Col. John Price was undoubtedly given the privilege of 
naming the new municipality. 

Jessamine creek — one hundred years ago a stream of large 
volume and great beauty — rises near the line of the R. N. L & B. 
Railroad, close to the station called Xealton and about half a 
mile from where the Xicholasville & A'ersailles turnpike crosses, 
and on the land now owned by Pleasant Cook, Esq. Along its 
banks grew the jessamine in richest profusion. This flower was 
found in great aljundance in many parts of the territory embraced 
l)y the new county. The name had been given to the creek by 
the pioneers, and the beauty of the plant and the beauty of the 
name so impressed the early settlers that they called this beautiful 
stream Jessamine creek. It is about twenty miles long and 
empties into the Kentucky river. 

Colonel Price asked that the new county should be called 
Jessamine. 

The county, always full of romance, in some way heard the 
s.tory of Jessaaiiine Douglas, Avhich was to the efifect that Jessa- 
mine Douglas, the beautiful daughter of a Scotch settler, was one 
day sitting upon the bank which overhangs the source of this 
creek, and while, in maidenly contemplation, gazing into the 
depths of the water, an Indian cautiously and silently stole upon 
her and sunk his tomahawk into her head and then tore her 
beautiful auburn locks from her head, with his scalping knife. 

This story is given the flavor of truth by its insertion in 
Collins' History of Kentucky. See \^ol. 2, page 399. The author 
goes on to say that the land about the head of the creek was 
settled by the father of Jessamine Douglas. There is no founda- 
tion for that pathetic and dramatic incident. The land at the 



68 Hldonj of Jesmmiiie Gouniij, Kentucky. 

head of Jessamine creek was not settled by Douglas, but by 
Michael Cogar. and this historical tradition has not even a shad- 
ow of fotmdation. 

The letter of Col. John Price, quoted below, written within 
eig-ht months of the legislative creation of the county, settles, 
beyond all cavil, that the county was called from Jessamine creek 
and the flower, and not from Jessamine Douglas. The story of 
the beautiful Scotch girl and her tragic end, has been told so 
often and has been so honestly and faithfully believed by the 
people of the county, and it has in it so much of that tragic and 
bloody character which marked Kentucky's early history, that 
it is both ungenerous and unkind to destroy and disrupt the faith 
which for nearly one hundred years has reposed with unfaltering 
trust in the pathetic story. 

As Colonel Meade did not come to Jessamine county until 
1796, and as both the East and West Forks of Jessamine creek 
were known and traveled in 1774 and 1775 and on down to 1790, 
and lands described and surveyed by the creek, and its course and 
meanderings laid down on Filson's and other maps and plats long 
prior to 1790; it is impossible for the creek to have been named 
for Jessamine Douglas, who, under no circtmistances, did she 
come with Colonel Meade, could have arrived in Kentucky prior 
to 1796. The Williams deposition, the Watkins journal, and Fil- 
son's map show that Jessamine creek was a well known and 
named stream prior to 1789. 

The Price Letter about the Formation of the County. 

Barbour Home, Jessamine county, 
November 13, 1820. 

My Esteemed Friend : I have read your favor of October 
6th with much pleasure. The county of Jessamine was surveyed 
by my friend, Maj. Frederick Zimmerman. I think he com- 
menced his work in May, 1796, but the county was not organized 
as a county until February 14th. In August the next year I was 
chosen as a member of the General Assembly by the county — 
without opposition. 

The name Jessamine was selected from a flower that grows 
on many creeks in the county. 



History of Jessamine County, Kcntnckij. 69 

The villainy practiced in the Marble creek neighborhood by 
the constables and other petty officers of Fayette county, in- 
duced me to make an effort to form a new county, as I had known 
for several years that it was becoming- impossible for my neigh- 
bors to get along on peaceable terms with officers who took 
pleasure in arresting and putting in prison men and women for 
the pitiful sum of $5. The only bed of straw, the only horse, the 
only cow, or pig of a neighbor, was leveyed on and sold at Lex- 
ington by the sheriff, but we now have a new set of officers and 
they are much better men than the others, who have so long an- 
noyed my neighbors with their villainy. 

Present my compliments to Mr. Bowman and John Marshall. 

Your obedient servant, 

John Price. 

Col. John Price induced many of his Virginia friends to settle 
in the ^larble creek neighborhood. The following letter to 
Lewis Tapp will be extremely interesting, as he has many de- 
scendants in Jessamine county : 

Lexington, Ky., May 10, 1805. 

Dear-Sir and Friend: I have received yours of April 2d. T 
take preat pleasure in informing you that if you have a desire to 
leave Virginia and settle in Kentucky I would advise you to pay 
a visit to this portion of Kentucky. Jessamine county was formed 
eight years ago. I settled in the limits of the county in 1788 
The population is 5.400. The surface of the land for the most part 
gently undulating, rising here and there into hills and moderate 
elevations. The timber is white ash, hickory, hackberry, elm. 
white oak, also white and black walnut. Besides this variety of 
timber in the county, cedar trees, yellow poplar, beech and cherry 
is scattered over various parts of tlie county. The principal 
creeks in the county are Hickman and Jessamine. There are 
also numerous smaller streams well distributed throughout the 
county. You can buy good land in this town for $20 per acre 
and in Elkhorn first-class land is worth from $10 to $12 per acre. 

As I am just in the act of going to Xashville in Jesse Cogar's 
flat-boat at Frankfort, I trust you will make us a visit soon. 

Your old friend, 

John Price. 

Lewis Tapp, Staunton, Augusta county, A'a. 



70 History of Jessamine Comity, Kentucky. 

In response to this invitation Lewis Tapp came to Kentucky 
and settled in the Marble creek neighborhood, four miles from 
the residence of Colonel Price. He raised a large family of great 
respectability, and died in 1822. Tapp's Branch is named in 
memory of him. 

On the 22d day of April, 1799. an order was entered fixing the 
seat of justice for Jessamine county at the place now occupied by 
the town of Nicholasville. The following order, entered by six 
of the justices of the peace, determined the count}^ seat: 

"At a court began and held for the county of Jessamine at the 
house of Jonas Davenport in said county, on Alonday, the 22d 
day of April, 1799, 

"Present,- Lewis, Thos. Caldwell, Gal^'l Mattison, Geo. 

Walker, Jas. Johnson and Price, gentlemen justices. 

"Ordered that the seat of justice for Jessamine county be per- 
manently fixed on the lands of Thos. Caldwell and Chefley Gates 
on the Hickman road." 

The blank l)efore the name of Lewis should have been filled 
with \\'illiam, and the blank before the name of Price should 
have been filled with the name of \\'illiam. 

x'Xs there were nine justices, it required five for a majority. 

The original act creating Jessamine county, directed that the 
location of the county seat should be determined only by a ma- 
jority of the justices. William Scott, Hugh Chrisman, and John 
Freeman were not present at the time of the entering of this order, 
but Thos. Caldwell, one of the justices who voted, was joint 
owner with Chesley Gates of the twent\-five acres which had been 
laid out by Rev. John Metcalf, on the i6th of September, 1798. 

The county had not been formed at the time of the first survey 
of Nicholasville, but was only created on the T9th of December, 
three months afterwards ; nor had the town of Xicholasville been 
officially recognized until the 26th day of August, 1799. On that 
day, proceeding under the statutes of Kentucky then in force for 
the establishment of towns, another order was entered, on the mo- 
tion of Thos. Caldwell and Chesley Gates, which is as follows : 

At a court begun and held for the county of Jessamine at the 
court house thereof on Monday the 26th day of August, 1799. 



History of Jexsaiii! lie Coioiti/, Kentxcki/. 71 

Present, Will Lewis, James Johnston, Lieo. Walker and John 
Lewis, gentlemen, justices. 

On the motion of Thomas Caldwell and Chesley Gates it is 
ordered that a town be established on their lands lying on the 
Hickman road, at the place where the seat of justice for said 
county is established, to be called and known by the name of 
Nicholasville and bounded as follows to wit : Beginning at a 
stake in Caldwell's field running W. 12 deg. E. 87 poles to a stake; 
thence S. 78 deg. E. 36.84 poles to a stake ; thence S. 12 deg. W. 
42 poles to a stake; thence S. 78 deg. E. 14 poles; thence N. 12 
deg. E. 2 poles; thence S. 78 deg. E. 3 poles; thence S. 12 deg. 
W. 5 poles ; thence X. 78 deg. W'. 17 poles ; thence S. 12 deg. W. 
42 poles; thence X. 78 podes W. 36.84 poles to the beginnmg. 
And it is further ordered that Joseph Crockett, William Shrieve, 
Richard Young, James Johnson, Gabrl. Madison, William 
Robards, Xicholas Lewis, James Davenport, Patrick Gray, Phil. 
Webber and Chesley Gates be appointed trustees of the said 
town. 

These trustees were simply appointed for the benefit of the 
land owners. It was their duty to make disposition of the lots 
in the town of Xicholasville, which now for the first time was 
officially recognized as the name of the county seat ; so that in 
celel:irating the centennial of Xicholasville on September 16, 
1898, it is a celebration of the centennial of its survey, rather than 
of its first official existence and recognition. 

The contest in regard to the location of the seat of justice be- 
gan even before the creation of the county by legislative authority. 
The establishment of a new county had been under discussion 
throughout the territory for quite a while. The petition which 
had been prepared for the legislature and the agitation of the 
question concerning the existence of a new county, had been more 
or less discussed by the people within the limits of the proposed 
county. It was difficult, of course, to determine exactly where 
the line would run, l)ut the tremendous l)end in the Kentucky 
river — which forms almost a horse-shoe — rendered the location 
of the county line very easy, as it was only necessary to run from 
the Kentucky river on the one side, to the Kentuckv river on the 
other side, in order to cut off a county of reasonable proportions. 



72 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 

Quarter Session Judges. 

The first session of the Court of Quarter Sessions was held 
at the house of Plsher Rice, in the county of Jessamine, on the 
25th day of March, 1789. Governor Garrard commissioned 
Joseph Crockett, Wilham Shreve and Richard Young as justices 
of the Court of Quarter Sessions. 

Tlie Court of Quarter Sessions then heard all matters except 
criminal matters, and these were heard in the District Court at 
Lexington. These three gentlemen were all present at Fishet 
Rice's on the said day, and they unanimously appointed Samuel 
H. Woo'dson, clerk of the Jesisamine County and Quarter Session 
Court. Mr. Woodson immediately entered upon the discharge 
of his duties, with Joseph Crockett as his security, his bond being 
in the sum of $1,000. Joshua Lewis was on the same day ap- 
pointed by the Court of Quarter Sessions state's attorney to prose- 
cute causes for the Commonwealth within Jessamine county. 

The first lawyers to qualify in the county for the practice of 
law were Joseph Lewis, William McDowell, Samtiel Venable. 
and Fielding L. Turner. These were all on that day qualified for 
practice in the Quarter Session Courts. Fielding L. Turner 
was the father of the Hon. Oscar Turner, so long a distinguished 
member of Congress from the First District of Kentucky. He 
removed from Kentucky to New Orleans, where his son Oscar- 
was born in 1829. 

On the following day, March 26, 1799, the first session of the 
court was held, the members of the court liaving qualified on the 
previous day. 

The house of Fisher Rice was used as a place for holding 
Quarter Session Courts for several years. Courts were also held 
at the house of Samuel H. Watson, the clerk of said court, who- 
then lived on the farm now the property of the Shelys. 

In those days it was necessary to appoint commissioners to- 
value certain lands taken by the sherifif under execution. Johm 
Hawkins, Patrick Gray, Joseph Chrisman, John McKinney, and 
Jonas Davenport were appointed said commissioners, and this 
was the first order ever made by court of record in Jessamine 
county. 

The second grand jury of Jessamine county empaneled in 



History of Jesmmixe Coiiiitij, Kentucky. 73 

the summer of 1799, had for its foreman Manoah Singleton, and 
among its members were Francis Lowens, Benjamin Netherland 
and Samuel Rice. The first indictment for selling whisky was 
found at this term of court against William Patterson, and the 
information on which this presentment or indictment was found 
was given by two members of the grand jury, Frances Lowens 
and S. Walters. 

The first man who ever took out license to keep a tavern in 
Jessamine county was Alaj. Benjamin Xetherland. A free negro. 
Bob Speed, was also a prominent caterer in those days, and he 
also took out a license to keep tavern, and some of the most 
prominent men. especially among the lawyers, have dined at Ivs 
tavern, which was at a corner on Main street immediately op- 
posite the court house. 



First Court, 

The first court held in Jessamine county was on the 25th of 
February, 1799. The members of the court assembled at the 
house of Fisher Rice, who lived in the field opposite the Kleber 
Price place, and where Mrs. Bridget O'Connell now lives. The 
record says: ".\t said time and place commissions were pro- 
duced from Governor Garrard, directed to William Lewis, Thos. 
Caldwell, William Scott, Gabriel Madison, George Walker, Will- 
iam Price. James Johnson, John Lewis, John Berry, Hugh Chris- 
man and John Freeman, appointing them Justices of the Peace in 
and for the county of Jessamine, whereupon William Lewis, Esq., 
first named in the commission aforesaid, administered the several 
oaths prescribed by law, to Thomas Caldwell, A\'illiam Scott, 
Gabriel Madison, George Walker, William Price. James Johnson, 
John Lewis, John Berry, Hugh Chrisman and John Freeman ; 
and Thomas Caldwell, Esq., administered the said oaths to Will- 
iam Lewis, and then the court was held for the said county." 

"Present the gentlemen within named. Charles W^est, Esq., 
produced a commission from the Governor, James Garrard, ap- 
pointing him sheriiT for the county aforesaid, which, being read, 
the said West took the several oaths prescribed by law, and, to- 
gether with Major Dickenson, Frances Lowens, Patrick Gray and 



74 Hidoi~y of Jesmmlne Connty, Kentnchj. 

John Scott as sureties, executed their bond to the Governor of 
the Commonwealth, in the penalty of $3,000, conditioned as the 
law directs for the due performance of duties." 

The court then proceeded to the appointment of a clerk, one 
Samuel Hughes Woodson, who \vas appointed Clerk, pro tem., 
who, thereupon, took the several oaths prescribed by the laws of 
this state, and the Constitution of the United States, and, to- 
gether with Joseph Crockett and Andrew ]\IcGill entered into 
bond to the Governor in the penalty of $1,000. as the law directs, 
which bond was ordered to be recorded." 

"County .Surveyor, Frederick Zinmierman, produced in court 
a commission from Governor Garrard, appointing him surveyor 
of this county, whereupon he executed bond in the penalty of 
$2,000, with James Curtin and Frances Lowens as securities, con- 
ditioned according to law. He took the several oaths prescribed 
by the laws of this state and the Constitution of the United 
States." 

At this meeting the first bridge ever constructed in Jessa- 
mine county was ordered to be let. The minutes says : 

"John Lewis and Benjamin Bradshaw are appointed to^ let and 
contract for the building of a bridge on Curd's road, near the 
ferry, which contract to be made by letting to the highest bidder." 
Curd's Ferry had been established at the mouth of Dick's river 
by the general legislature in 1786. Daniel Mitchell presented his 
commission as coroner, and cjualified as such. 

The first lawyers admitted to practice in the Jessamine County 
Court were Joshua Lewis and Fielding Turner, who separately 
produced in court, on the above day. their license, properly au- 
thenticated, as the law directs, and were, thereupon, admitted to 
practice. 



First Circuit Court. 

The Jessamine Circuit Court was organized in 1803, and its 
first order was the appointment of a clerk. Samuel H. Woodson 
received this appointment, and held the office until 1819, when he 
resigned. The following orders will sliow the Constitution of the 
court, and also the first petition filed in the court: 



Hldory of J('!<sainiue Coimti/, Kuntuckij. 75 

'"xApril Circuit Court, 1803. 

"lie it reiueuibered that in ])ursuance of an act of the General 
Assembly, entitled, "An Act to establish Circuit Courts, and an 
act entitled an act to amend an act entitled an act to establish 
Circuit Courts,- the Honorable Samuel McDowell, Circuit 
Judge, attended at the court house of the county of Jessamine, on 
the i8th day of April, 1803, being- the third Monday. Present, the 
Honorable Samuel McDowell, Circuit Judg-e. 

"It is ordered that Fielding- L. Turner, Esq.. be appointed 
clerk, pro tempore, to this court, who. theretipon. took the sev- 
eral oaths prescribed by law, and executed his bond, with Samuel 
H. Woodson and Joseph Crockett his security in the penalty of 
£ 1000, conditioned as directed by law. 

"It is ordered that Samuel H. Woodson be appointed clerk to 
this court, and that the pro tempore appointment made by the 
court this day, be discontinued, and. thereupon, the said Samuel 
H. Woodson took the several oaths required by law. and executed 
his bond, with Joseph Crockett and William Lewis his securities, 
in the penalty of £1,000. 



First Order Entered in Civil Action. 

"At a Circuit Court, began and held for the county of Jessa- 
mine, at the court-house thereof, on the i8th day of July, 1803 : 
Present, the Honorable Samtiel McDowell, Circuit Judge, and 
Richard Young-, Esq.: 

James Dunn. 

vs. 
Nicholas Lewis. 

Debt. 

Be it remembered that heretofore, that is to say. on the 13th 
day of Jime. one thousand, eight hundred and two. James Dunn, 
by Wm. McDowell, his attorney, applied for and obtained from 
the clerk's office of the late court of Quarter Sessions for the 
county aforesaid, the Conmionwealth's writ of capias ad respond- 
endum, which, together with the motion of plaintiff, by his at- 



76 Hidory of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 

torney aforesaid, it was ordered that the said Deft, should appear 
at the next rules, enter special bail and plead to the plaintiff's 
action, or that judgment would be granted the plaintifT for the 
debt in the declaration mentioned and what damages he hath 
sustained in the premises and a writ of enquiry awarded him to 
have the same assessed by a jury of the bystanders at the next 
court." 

"Jessamine county. Set. : 

"James Dunn, by his attorney, complains of Nicholas Lewis 
' in custody, etc., of a plea that he render to him the sum of seventy- 
two pounds, current money, current money of Kentucky, which 
he owes and unjustly detains, for that, whereas, the said defendant 
on the thirtieth of May, 1800, at the parish of Kentucky, and 
county aforesaid, by his certain note, in writing, sealed with his 
seal and to the court now here shown, eighteen months after the 
date aforesaid promised and obligated himself to the plaintiff 
to pay him the sum of thirty-six pounds, for the payment of 
which said sum the said defendant bound himself in the penal sum 
of seventy-two pounds like money, yet said defendant not regard- 
ing his obligation hath not paid the said sum of thirty-six pounds, 
although often required, by means whereof an action hath accrued 
to have and demand of him the said sum of seventy-two pounds. 
but the said defendant, to pay the same or any part thereof, al- 
though often required the same to pay, hath hitherto refused, and 
still doth refuse, wherefore the said James Dunn says he is in- 
jured and hath sustained damage to the value of ^2 pounds, and 
therefore, he sues, etc. Wm. McDowell, A. P. ; Jno. Doe and R. 
Roe, P. P." 

First Will 

The first will recorded in Jessamine county was that of 
Charles Weber. It is only interesting because the first of its 
kind ever placed upon the records : 

First Will, recorded August, 1779. 

"In the name of God, Amen. Charles Weber, of Jessamine 
county and state of Kentucky, being in sound mind, praised be 



History of Jef^mmine County, Kentucky. 77 

God for the same, do give and dispose of all my worldly goods 
and estate in a manner and form as follows : 

''First, my desire is that all my just debts be paid by my ex- 
ecutors, hereafter mentioned, and in the following manner: First 
1 wish my mare and colt to be converted to my debts, and if they 
should not be sufficient, my negro fellow, Booker, is to be hired 
for the balance till paid, as my executors think most expedient. 
Then the said negro to be hired on till the profits amount to sixty 
pounds. The first forty pounds arising is to be delivered to my 
l)rother William Webber, for his own use and his heirs forever. 
The other twenty pounds to be given ^o my brother, Philip Weber, 
for his own use and his heirs during life, and then the said negro 
to be delivered to my brother John Webber, for his use and 
his heirs during the life of the said negro, or the said Jolm Webber 
or his attorney. 

"Applying for the same, I do also give and bequeath unto 
my l:)roither Archie Webber, my negro boy by the name of Bill, 
to him and his heirs forever. I also appoint and ordain James 
Owens, and Robert Cohoun, of Jessamine county, executors ot 
this, my last will and testament, desiring that the acting ex- 
ecutors to my estate shall, in lieu of my expenses to them, recover 
with my other debts that is to be paid, twenty dollars each for 
their services in cash out of my estate. 

"Tn witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed 
my seal this the seventeenth day of June, one thousand, 
seven hundred and ninety-nine. Signed, sealed and published, 
and do declare this to be mv last will and testament, revoking all 
other wills before named by or for me. 

"Charles Webber. (Seal.) 
"Rosin Brashers, 

"Jacob Rice, 

"Peter Akins." 



The First Marriage. 

Jesse Hughes and Alary Nicholson were married bv Xathan- 
iel Harris on March 14, 1799. 



78 Histonj of Je^fsainine Couiiti/, Kentucky. 

The First Baptist Meeting-house, 

It is difficult to establish the exact location of a Baptist church 
in the very earliest settlement of the county near Clear creek. 
This was the church at which Lewis Craig- frequently preached ; 
it is near what is now known as the Jack Cunning"hani property, 
or the Fisher place. It was called Mount Moriah, and in early 
times was a very important burying-ground. Joel Watkins, in 
his diary, mentions the fact of having attended services at that 
point several times, and there seeing large congregations. It 
was established about the same time as the Ebenezer church, but 
the latter is undoubtedly the oldest church organization in Jessa- 
mine countv. 



County Judges under the Constitution of 1849, 

Alexander Wake, served eight years ; W. S. Scott, died in 
office; John A. Willis, appointed, served from 1858 to 1859; 
Henry J. Campbell, elected, and served four years; Richard Fer- 
guson, served one term ; Melvin T. Lowry, served four years ; 
James G. Bruce, served one term, died in office ; Tucker Wood- 
son, elected in 1872, died in office in 1874; W. H. Phillips, present 
County Judge, has held the office for twenty-three years. 

County Attorneys: John Dishman, John S. Bronaugh, 
Wm. R. Welch, W^m. Byrd Woodson, Geo. R. Pryor, Benjamin 
P. Campbell, Benjamin A. Crutcher, John H. Welch, E. B. Hoo- 
ver, N. L. Bronaugh, J. ^^'illard Mitchell. 

Under the Constitution of Kentucky in 1799, the oldest Justice 
of the Peace was made Sheriff. Charles West, first Sheriff; Bar- 
tholomew Kinnard, deputy; Benj. Nicholson; Thos. Butler, dep- 
uty ; Lewis Singleton, Andrew McCampbell ; James H. McCamp- 
bell ; John Perry, Sr. ; James Wilmor:' ; Campbell Wilmore ; Har- 
rison Daniel ; W. P. Daniel ; William Bronaugh ; W^ P. Daniel ; 
Jerry Dickerson ; Newton Dickerson ; John Butler , deputy ; M. T. 
Lowry; Thomas E. W^est, his deputy; Geo. T. Chrisman. 



Hidori/ of Jex-^idniiie Cottnti/, Kciitnckij. 79 

Members of the Kentucky Senate and House of 
Representatives. 

Senate of the Conimonwealtli of Jventucky : Joseph Crock- 
ett, 1800-1804; WilUam Bledsoe, 1806-1810; George WaH^er, 
1810-1814; George I. Brown, 1829- 1834; WilHam Chark, 1838- 
1842; Tucker Woodson, 1842-1846. 1853-1857; A. L. McAfee. 
1869-1873: E. R. Sparks. 1882-1886; Thos. R. Welch, 1896-ii 
From Tessamine and Woodford counties, Wm. Vawter, if 
Richard C. Graves, 1850. 

House of Representatives, Commonwealth of Kentucky: 
Joshua Lewis. 1799, 1803. 1804; John Scott, 1800; George Walk- 
er, 1805, 1807. 1808, 1809. 1810: Wiliiam Price. 1801, 1802: John 
Hawkins. 1806, 1811 : AMlliam Caldwell, 1812, 1813. 1814, 1815, 
1816. 1818. 1820. 1822: A\'m. Walker, 1817; Samuel H. Wood- 
son. 1819-25: James Clarke. 1820; Richard E. Meade, 1822; 
George I. Brown, 1824. 1829, 1832, 1850; Harrison Daniel. 1826- 
27: John Cunningham, 1828; Courtney R. Lewis, 1830; David M. 
Woodson, 1831 : Dr. J. \\'. S. Mitchell, 1833-34; Tucker \\'ood- 
son, 1835-36-37-40: George S. Shanklin. 1838-44-61-65; Alexan- 
der Wake. 1839: George T. Chrisman, 1841 ; James McCampl^ell, 
1842-45-55-57: James H. Lowry. 1843: Joseph W. Thompson, 
1846; Joseph C. Christopher, 1847-49; John M. Reynolds. 1848: 
James C. Wilmore, 1851-53; Larkin Fain, 1853-55 - Allen L. Mc- 
Afee, 1857-59; Wm. Fisher, 1859-61-65-67; Thomas T. Cogar, 
1867-71; James H. McCampbell, 1871-73: died December 25, 
1872, was succeeded by Wm. Brown, 1873 > ^ • D. Miles, 1874-75 ; 
Samuel R. Overstreet. 1875-77: Dr. John C. Welch, 1871-78-79- 
80: J. N. Mattingly. 1881-82; E. T. Lillard. 1883-84; Thomas A. 
Davis. 1885-86; W^ T. Jones. 1887-88; J. H. W^elch, 1889-90-91- 
92; George W. Goode, 1893-94; R. S. Perry. 1895-96; C. A. Wil- 
son, 1897-98. 

Nicholasville. 

On Saturday. September 16, 1798, Rev. John Metcalf took the 
initial steps to locate Nicholasville. At the time of the location of 
the town he called it after Hon. George Nicholas. At that time 
several roads, well-located, converged at the point. The settlers 



80 



Hidory of Jexmmine Cotoity, Kentucky. 



from Jessamine and Hickman creeks, which were then the most 
thickly populated parts of the territory embraced in Jessamine 
county, were in the habit of traveling between ithese two creeks. 
The road which then ran to Lexington ran sul)stantiallv on the 
line of the turnpike and its traces are still distinctly visible to the 
eye at various points along- the turnpike. This was true of the 
roads which ran from Nicholasville and what is known as Rus- 
sell's tavern. In the location cf the turnpike, very little of this 




WM. O. BUTLKR. 



old line was used. This was equally true of the road to Sulphur 
Well, but the roads crossed at that time north and south and east 
and west, exactly where Main street and Maincross street now in- 
tersect each other. 

Tlie inducing- causes which led to the location were, first, fou'- 
large springs, which were presumed then, to be never-failing. 
These all were within the limits of the twenty-five acres laid oui 
into the town, and second, to the fact of the road passing from 
Lexington and Danville, and from East Hickman to Jessamine, 



History of J&fsamine County, Kentucky. 81 

crossing" at right angles at the point. Little Jessamine, or East 
Jessamine, was then a stream of more importance than now. Ris- 
ing about a mile above and fed by other streams along the line, it 
became quite a volume for a creek by the time it passed through 
tlie borders of the newly laid out village. 

It was quite a while after the town was established before 
much trade centered within its limits. The people who first lived 
in the town were farmers in the immediate neighborhood. 

There was no post-office in Nicholasville for several years after 
its location. The mails were carried on horseback between Lex- 
ington and Danville and Lancaster and Harrodsburg. Its loca- 
tion was not made without clashes of personal interest. Samuel 
H. Woodson, who was then a lawyer, desired to establish the town 
where the Shely place now stands, about one mile south of the 
]:)resent location, while Frederick Zimmerman sought to have the 
town estabhshed. about three-quarters of a mile north, on top of 
the hill, just beyond the Duncan farm. It required several years 
to get the matter finally settled, and it was largely due tO' the great 
mfluence as well as the persistent efiforts of Rev. John Aletcalf 
that the town was laid out in its present location. 

A large proportion of the settlers in Xicholasville were from 
the state of Mrginia, and a few from North and South Carolina. 

Nathaniel McLean, who married Catherine Blackford in 
Morris county. New Jersey, was a brother-in-law of Benjamin 
Blackford. McLean built the first log cabin in Nicholasville on 
the lot now owned by Mr. Burdine. Blackford himself had set- 
tled on the farm just north of Nicholasville, now owned by his 
grandson, Robert Duncan, in 1783. 

John McLean, Associate Justice of the United States Su- 
preme Court, lived for quite a while in his youth on the Duncan 
farm. When four years old his father moved to Morgantown, 
Ya., and thence came to Nicholasville, Ivy., and subsequentlv 
moved to W^arren county, Ohio. He remained in Jessamine un- 
til he was about sixteen years of age. In 1812 he was eected to 
Ci^ngress from the Cincinnati district. He refused the nomina- 
tion for the United States Senate in 181 5, but was elected a Judge 
of tlie Supreme Court of Ohio, in 1816. In 1821 he was ap- 
pointed postmaster general and in 1829 he was appointed As- 
•.sociate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was a 
6 



82 Hidonj of Jexmmine thioitt/, K('nfiick[/. 

man of great ability and great force of character. He delivered a 
dissenting opinion in the Dred Scott case, declaring that slavery 
was contrary to right and that it had its origin in power alone, 
and that in this country it was sustained onl\- b)- local law. He 
died in Cincinnati on the 4th of April, 1861. 

Within the memory of persons living, there was an old well 
dug by Judge McLean's father on the Duncan place. It w^as 
east of the hoiise about 200 yards. 

I'he next settler in the town was Maj. Benjamin Xetherland. 
Shortly after the l^attle of Blue Licks, in 1782, he put up a log 
cabin on the lot now occupied by the county jail, and adjoining it 
shortly afterwards, another log cabin. This was subsequently re- 
placed l\v the Mingo tavern. The tavern house he erected in 1793. 
and it was still used ]\v him as a hotel at the time of his death, in 
1838. Previous to October, 1801, there was no post-office nearer 
to Nicholasville than Lexington. On the first of September of 
that year Major Xetherland wrote to the postmaster general urg- 
ing the establishment of a mail road from Lexington, Nicholas- 
ville Lancaster and Harrodsburg. and by way of Frankfort and 
Richmond. 

Joseph Habersham, of Georgia, was postmaster-general. He 
wrote the follow^ing letter to Major Net'herland : 

"Your letter was received. Enclosed you have an advertise- 
ment, inviting proposals for carrying the mail from Nicholas- 
ville to Lexington, PYankfort, Lancaster and Richmond, and 1 
shall be glad to receive yours. Mr. Clay has recommended your 
appointment to the office of postmaster of Nicholasville. and 1 
have decided upon your appointment unless you decline, and wish 
to avoid the trouble. I am 

"Your obedient servant, 

"J. Habersham, P. M. G." 

This letter Alajor Netherland answered as follows : 

"Nicholasville, Ky., Sept. 21, 1801. 
"Your favor of the 4th of August came to hand while I was in 
Lexington, wnth enclosed advertisement for carrying the mails 
from Nicholasville to Lexington, Frankfort, Richmond, Harrods- 
burg and Lancaster. It is the earnest wish of all the inhabitants 



Hlstori/ of Jexfainine Coiiidi/, Kcutiifki/. S3 

of this county that a j^ostoffice be estal)hshe(l in Xicholasville, 
which is twelve miles from Lexington, over a totorous mud road, 
in winter. If it should be thouglit expedient to establish a post- 
office in the village and my name annexed to it, I will accept. 1 
am, sir, 

"Your obedient servant, 

"B. Netherland." 

In answer to this jNTajor Netherland received the following 
letter : 

"Washington City, Sept. 20, 1801. 
"Major Benjamin Xetherland: 

"From informaition I have received 1 conclude it will be agree- 
able to you to accept the office of postmaster at Xicholasville. 
You will receive herewith two packets containing a cop}- of a law 
for regulating postoffices, with forms and directions, a key for 
unlocking the mail portmanteau, a table of postoffices, and the 
necessary blanks. The enclosed bond you will l)e pleased to 
execute with sufficient surety or sureties and then return the same 
together with a note, after they have been duly certified by the 
Justice of the Peace, before wdiom you shall take and subscribe 
them. When the}' are received at this office a commission will 
be dtily forwarded. You can commence business as soon as your 
bond is executed and forwarded, if you think proper 

Your obedient servant, 

"J. Habersham, P. M. G." 

It is evident that these two letters crossed each other on the 
post road, between Washington and Xicholasville. Major XTeth- 
erland remained postmaster at Nicholasville for more than twenty 
years, and kept the postoffice in the Mingo tavern. 

Col. George X^icholas and Rev. John Metcalf were close 
friends. Four years before Xicholasville was located he wrote 
Colonel Xicholas the following letters: 

"January 14. 1794. 
"Hon. Geo. Nicholas: 

"I have lately received from you two of your kind utters and 
would have answered them before now, but I have taken charge 



84 H'mtory of Jesmmine County, Kentucky. 

of Bethel Academy, and have been so confined for the last two 
weeks in fitting up suitable places of abode for some of my pupils 
that I have greatly neglected my private affairs, and especially 
that portion of them which you are attending to in Lexington." 

"Jessamine county, Ky., Sept. i6, 1798. 
"Hon. Geo. Nicholas: 

'"It afforded me great happiness to hear that you had returned 
in safety and health to your family and friends. I expected to 
hear from you more frequently, but, I suppose, the multiplicity of 
care and busines prevent your devoting much of your time to let- 
ters, save what you wrote to me and Joseph Crockett. But now 
that you have arrived at home I shall expect to hear from you 
soon and as often as usual. I must inform you that I have 
named our county seat Nicholasville in honor of you. I was all 
day laying off three streets to-day, and my nerves are very much 
affected by the severe labors in the wet weather. These being 
the circumstances under which I write you this hasty note, I fear 
it will have but poor claims upon your time, but I can not help it. 

"Your friend, 

"John Metcalf." 

The contest about the location of the county seat must have 
been carried on for some time and quite vigorously. On the 7th 
of October, 1803, Mr. Metcalf wrote the following letter: 

"Charles West, High Sheriff, 

"Jessamine county : 
"My Dear Sir — I write to assure you that we have succeeded, 
amid much foolish opposition from Samuel H. Woodson, County 
and Circuit Court Clerk, and Air. Frederick Zimmerman, County 
Surveyor, in locating our county seat. Mr. Woodson wanted to 
locate the town near his residence, one mile south of the first sur- 
vey, which I made six years ago, including twenty-five acres. 
Mr. Zinmierman wanted the town to include the residence of 
Fisher Rice, which is one mile north. I am now convinced that 
through your efforts and Mr. Caldwell's and mine, I have de- 
feated Mr. Woodson and Mr. Zimmerman in their foolish oppo- 
sition to the present location, which is more suitable and more 



History of Jexmmine County, Kentucky. 85 

convenient to roads east and west to the Kentucky river. A sup- 
ply of good water was another great advantage which we had ovei 
the other two places. There are four good springs of water that 
never run dry. This convenience to good water, more than any 
other consideration, caused me to select this location in preference 
to the other places. I thank you for the assistance you gave me 
in defeating a claim as foolish as it was selfish. I am pleased to 
learn that Mr. Zimmerman, as 'legal surveyor,' has surveyed 
tlie present site, which was legally recorded last year (1802). We 
have twenty heads of families erecting houses on a ntunber of lots. 
Come and see me soon.'' 

First Charter, 

The first charter of Xicholasville was passed in 1812, and is as 
follows : 

CHAPTER CCCCIV. 

An act authorizing the trustees of the town of Nicholasville 
to sell real property in said town, under certain restrictions : 

Approved February 8, 1812. 

Section i. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the 
Commonwealth of Kentucky, that the trustees of the town of 
Xicholasville, in the county of Jessamine, shall have power to 
levy a tax on the real property in said town, in proportion to the 
value of lots, not exceeding one hundred cents for every hundred 
dollars; and the trustees, or a majority of them, shall have power 
to cause an assessment to be made of the lots in said town, in or- 
der to enable them to fix the sum to be paid by the proprietors or 
occupants of the lots, provided, however, that a majority of the 
trustees shall concur in levying the tax. 

Sec. 2. And the trustees, or a majority of them, may appoint 
some fit person to collect the tax ; and should the owner or occu- 
pant, refuse to pay the tax for the space of three months after the 
amount of the tax is fixed as herein provided, in that case the 
collector shall, after giving thirty days' notice by advertisement 
at three of the most public places in said town, expose for sale the 
lot or lots, or so much thereof, as will be suf^cient to pay the tax 
and cost of sale; but the owner or owners of the lot or lots, his, 



86' Hidortj of Jesi^amine CoKnti/, Kentitckij. 

her or their heirs, executors or administrators, shall have twelve 
months from the time of sale of the lot or lots, or parts of lots, to 
redeem the lot or lots, or part of lots, by paying to the purchaser 
{he amount of the lot or lots, or pait of lots sold, with lOO per 
cent thereon ; and the collector shall be entitled to 7 per cent on 
the amount of the tax collected under this act. 

Sec. 3. And the trustees of the town shall have full power to 
convey to the purchaser, by deed or deeds of conveyance, the lots, 
or parts of lots, sold under the provisions of this act. and not re- 
deemed within the time allowed for redemption, which shall vest 
in the purchaser, his, her or their heirs, or assignee, or assigns, all 
the right, title and interest of the owner, or owners, in and to the 
lot or lots, or parts of lots, saving, however, to infants, femes co- 
vert, and persons of unsound minds, a right to redeem within 
three years after their several disabilities shall be removed, or 
come of age ; provided, however, that the collector shall not be 
allowed to sell any lot or part of a lot where sufficiency of personal 
estate can be found on such lot or lots, or parts of lots, to satisfy 
the tax due ; which the collector is hereby authorized to seize and 
sell. 

Second Charter. 

The second charter of Nicholasville was passed in 1823. It 
was as follows : 

CHAPTER DXLVII. 

An Act to Regulate the Town of Xicholasville. 

Approved Xovember 18, 1823. 

Section i. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the 
Commonwealth of Kentucky, that the free, white male inhabitants 
of the town of Nicholasville, who shall have attained the age of 
tweny-one years and upwards, shall meet annually in each year, 
at the court-house in said town, on the first Monday in May, and 
elect seven trustees for said town, which trustees shall possess the 
qualifications hereinafter mentioned ; and a majority of them so 
elected, shall be sufficient to constitute a board, who shall be, and 
they are hereby, authorized to make such by-laws for the govern- 
"lent and regulation of said town as to them shall seem proper. 



History of Jexmvdue County, Kentucky. 87- 

not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of this state. The 
said trustees shall have full power and authority to impose a poll 
tax annually, on the male inhabitants of full age, not exceeding 
one dollar each. 

Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, that the said trustees shall ap- 
point their clerk or any other officer they may think proper, who 
shall continue in office for and during the time for which the trus- 
tees, who appointed them, shall remain in office, and the said 
trustees shall have power and authority to remove any officer by 
them appointed, for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, and 
appoint an_\- other instead of the person so removed. 

Sec. 3- Be it further enacted, that the trustees of said town or 
a majoritv of them shall have full power and authority to levy a 
tax annually, on the real property in said town, in proportion 
to the value of the lots in their improved state, not exceeding one 
hundred cents for every hundred dollars' value, and the trustees 
or a majoritv of them, shall have power to cause an assessment to 
be made of the value of the lots in said town by some person or 
persons, appointed l)y them, in order to enable them to fix the sum 
to be paid by the proprietors or occupants of said lots ; provided, 
however, that a majority shall concur in laying the tax. 

Sec. I/. Be it further enacted, that the said trustees shall, be- 
fore thev can recover any fine or fines for a breach of their by- 
laws or ordinances, have a fair copy of their by-laws set up at 
three of the most public places in said town at least three weeks. 
Sec. 19. Be it further enacted, that it shall be the duty of the 
trustees, annually, at the August County Court of Jessamine, to 
make a settlement with the County Court and pay over any mon- 
evs that mav be on hand, to their successors, and in case of failure 
the Countv Court is hereby authorized to summon them to appear 
at their next or succeeding term to make a settlement and to en- 
ter up judgment against them for any sums that may appear 
against them and award executions thereon. 

Sec. 20. Be it further enacted, that the first election under 
this act shall be held by two Justices of the Peace, for the county 
of Jessamine, and the Clerk of the Board of Trustees, at the time 
said election takes place. 

Sec. 21. Be it further enacted, that all laws of a special na- 
ture heretofore enacted, applying to Nicholasville. be, and the 



88 Hidorij of JeKmmine County, Kentucky. 

same are hereby, repealed from and after the first general elec- 
tion under this act. 

The first election was held on the 31st of Alay, 1824. A cer- 
tificate of this was in the following words : "We do certify that 
we have this day caused an election to be held for trustees of the 
town of Nicholasville. agreeably to an act of the legislature of the 
state of Kentucky, approved the 18th of November, 1823, when 
the following gentlemen were duly elected trustees for the said 
town for the ensuing year, namely: B. Xetherland, Sr., Har- 
rison Daniel, Levy L. Todd, Win. Perkins, John ^lessick. James 
Lusk, \\n\. Cox. Given under our hands this 31st day of May, 
1824. 

" George Brown, John Bowling, 
"Two of the justices of the peace of jessamine county. 

"Attest : H. Daniel, clerk B. T. T. N." 

A meeting of the Board of Trustees of the town was held on 
the 19th day of June, 1824, at ^Nlingo Tavern. On that day the 
report of James Wolmore, Waddell G. Bruce and Benjamin 
Netherland. Jr., as commissioners, and W. G. Bruce was allowed 
$2 as assessor for making out a list of taxable property in the 
year 1823, and B. Netherland, Jr., was allowed $105 for services 
as assessor for one year. The tax rate was fixed at 30 cents on 
each $100 worth of value on the valuation fixed. by the com- 
missioners. On the 27th of September, 1824, another meeting 
was held, when the treasurer was directed to pay Wm. Overstreet 
$10 for his services as town sergeant and market master, and Wm. 
Campbell, who was the father of the late Henry J. Campbell, 
county judge, who died in 1866, was allowed $15 for his services 
as town sergeant for six months. 

An ordinance on the subject of dogs was also passed. It was 
known as a by-law and declared "That any person in the town 
of Nicholasville who shall keep more than one dog or bitch shall 
be fined $1 for every twenty-four hours he shall retain the same 
after the loth day of Alay next," and that it should be the dutv ol 
the town sergeant to enforce this by-law on all alike. It was also 
ordered that Wm. Cox be allowed $13 for whipping thirteen 



Historij of Jesxaiiiliic Coioify, Kcniiickij. 



m 



slaves, according to the ])y-la\vs of the town, and that the treas- 
urer be autliorized to pay the same. 

In the days of slavery in Kentucky all the towns and county 
seats adopted ordinances or by-laws preventing negro slaves or 
free negroes from visiting the towns after the hours of lo o'clock, 
either in the streets or collecting on street corners or at the 
kitchens of others than their owners. If they had a written per- 
mit from their owners stating their business in town after lo 
o'clock at night they were permitted to go free and were not ar- 
rested and whipped. The author remembers when a boy very 
often to have used his father's name to a great many of these per- 
mits in the town of Xicholasville for his slaves, and in return to 
have received numerous pies and cakes and frequently btmdles ol 
stick candy, which the grateful recipients of the order brought 
back as an assurance of their gratitude and as the means of secur- 
ing further indtdgences. 

The following list of property for the year 1831 affords curious 
readingf : 



The report of the Coiniuissioiiers appointed to value the houses and 
lots and slaves in the town was received, adopted and ordered to be re- 
corded, which is done as follows : 



45 


29 . . 


45 


30 . . 


45 


31 • • 


50 


32 . . 


150 


33 • • 


45 


34 • • 


55 
55 


35 • • 

36 . . 


30 
30 
30 


37 • • 
38. . 

38^. 


500 


39 • • 


75 


40 . . 


400 
800 


41 . . 

42 . . 


175 


43 • • 


70 
60 
60 


44 • • 

45 • • 
46. . 


50 
65 


47 • - 
48. . 


200 


49 


150 


50 . . 


50 


51 • ■ 


50 


52 • 


50 


53 


300 


54 


30 


55 • 



\ 800 

300 
125 
125 
225 
450 

1,800 
2,000 

800 

I.5C0 

750 

800 

2,700 
2,500 
2,000 
3.000 

2,500 

900 

500 

1,200 
400 
400 

650 
250 

200 

750 

250 

575 



56 . . 

57 

58 . . 

59 

60 . . 

61 . . 
62 

63 . . 

64 . 

65 . . 
66 

67 & 68 

70 . . 

71 . . 

72 • • 

73 • • 

74 • • 

75 • • • 
76 

77 • • 

78 . . 

79 • • 

80 . . 

81 . . 

82 . . 

83 . . 
84 

85 • 



F 125 
no 

75 

i.Soo 

60 

65 

175 

750 

1.500 

750 

1,600 

3,000 

3,800 

2,000 

1.500 

600 

1.500 

900 

1,400 

1,800 

300 

600 

600 

700 

125 

100 

150 

250 



86 

y- 
"/ 

88 
89 
90 

91 
92 

93 
94 
95 
96 

97 

98 

99 

too & lOI 
102 & 103 
104 

105 

106 

107 
108 

109 
no 



f 300 

200 

600 

40 

400 

800 

75 

75 

500 

125 

600 

600 

600 

160 

950 

2.150 

300 

60 

70" 

60 

700 

800 

50 

$68,065 



90 



Hixtort/ of Jef^mmine Coiinfij, Kentucky. 



NEGRO SLAVES. 

Henry Burch, man and woman $ 700 

B. Netherlaud, Sr., boy, girl, woman and child 1,050 

The same, administrator of P. Netherland, woman .... 300 

James Norvell, woman, child and 2 men 600 

B. Netherland, Jr., man, woman and child 900 

Wm. Shreve, 2 men, 2 women and 3 children 1,550 

David Crozer, i woman, 2 girls 800 

Thos. J. Brown, i man, i boy, 3 girls, i woman 1,905 

Robt. Young, i boy 350 

James Lusk, i girl 300 

James Hill, 2 women, 2 girls 900 

David Majors, i girl 300 

Henr}' Ball, i girl 200 

James McCabe, woman, girl and boy 725 

Charles M. Davenport, man, woman and child 800 

James L. Peak, i girl 275 

John Downing, woman, boy and girl 650 

William Campbell, i boy ; 200 

William White, woman and 2 children 600 

Alex Wake, 2 women, 2 bo3's and girl 1,000 

George Cunningham, woman 250 

Henry Metcalf, woman and man -. 700 

Joseph Carson, girl 325 

James C. Wilmore, girl 225 

Jerome B. Sparks, boy 350 

James Mars, i girl 225 

Richard Reynolds, girl 300 

Levi L- Todd, woman and girl 350 

Joseph Maxwell, 2 girls 600 

Samuel Rice, man, woman and girl 450 

1 17,880 
68,065 

Total value lots and slaves f85>945 



TITHES. 

Henry Btirch, B. Netherland, Sr. , Robt. McMiirtr3% Jame.s 
Norvell, B. Netherland, Jr., James Downing, Emmanuel Messick, 
William Shreve, Woodson Dickerson, David Crozer, George W. 
Elley, J. M. Spraggins, Miller Messenner, Ezekiel Btirch, George 
Davenport, Robt. Voting, David Shook, John W. Bourne, 
Churchill Fatilconer, Wm. Fatilcon'er, Charles Gibson, James 
Hill, David Majors, James Majors, Henry Ball, James McCabe, 
Jas. E. Peak, Chas. M. Davenport, George B. Nelson, Joseph 
Rutherford, Henry R. Roland, William H. Mathews, Jas. Eusk. 



Hidofji of Jexs(imlii>' GomUy, Kentucki/. 



91 



David Bowman, John Downing, William Campbell, Alex. Wake, 
George Cunningham, Henr}- Metcalf, Joseph Carson, James C 
Wilmore, Jerome B. Sparks, James Mars, Richard Reynolds, 
Joseph Maxwell, Sanuiel Burch, Samuel Rice, William Cox, 
Joseph Easle}', Levi h- Todd, T. J. Browning. Total, 51. 



DOGS. 



H. Burch I 

James Norvell ■. . 2 

B. Netherlaud, Jr i 

E. Messick 2 

Will. Shreve i 

Jas. Downiug ........ i 

T. J. Brown 6 

Robt. Young 1 

Frie Fanny 1 

Jas. Hill 2 

David Majors i 

C. M. Davenport 2 

Sucky East 2 

John Downing i 

B. Netherland, Sr 4 



No. 

Win. Campbell 2 

Alex Wake i 

G. Cunningham i 

Henry Metcalf 2 

Elizabeth Buskett 2 

Joseph Carson i 

Metcalf's Charlotte ..... 2 

James C. Wilmore ... . . i 

Jerome B. Sparks i 

Jos. Maxwell i 

Samuel Burch 2 

Wm. Faulconer i 

Samuel Rice i 



Total No. dogs . 



46 



VALUE OF TAXABLE PROPERTY IN NICHOLASVILLE. 

185S ;?246,300 

1874 261,075 

1882 336,260 

1888 566,920 

1S92 799.475 

1894 853,600 

1898 976,860 



A'arious either legislative enactments were passed from time to 
time, until 1884 the town first had authority to choose a Mayor, 
together with a Board of Councilmen. In that year, Hon. John 
S. Bronaugh was elected first Mayor of Nicholasville ; he served 
eight years, but declined re-election. He was on every hand re- 
garded as a most valuable ofilicial, and brought the affairs of the 
town into splendid condition. He was succeeded by Dr. Charles 
Talbert, who served two years, and he by William L. Steele, the 
present Mayor. 

Under the Constitution of Kentucky, of 1890, providing for 
the classification of all the towns and cities of the state, Nicholas- 



92 History of Jesxamine County, Kentucky. 

ville became a city of the fourth class. It has now a population 
within its limits of over 3.000. 

At the close of its centennial year, its Mayor and Councilmen 
are as follows : 

^Fayor — William Steele, grandson of Samuel ^IcDowell, born 
1843. Councilmen — Jephtha D. Hughes, born in 1852; Charles 
■Mitchell, born in 1856; Frank Smith, born in 1870; Charles Ev- 
ans, born in 1852 ; Andrew McAfee, colored, born in 1861 ; Adam 
Adcock, born in 1851. 

No city in Central Kentucky has grown more rapidly or has 
more beautiful streets or a better city government. The little 
village of 1798, with a few straggling log houses has become in 
1898 a thrifty, energetic and enterprising city of 3,500 people, 
with 8 miles of streets, with handsome residences, with impos- 
ing public buildings and with every comfort and convenience 
which enter into modern city life. 

Upon the looth anniversary of its existence, the following are 
the physicians in Nicholasville : 

Dr. Chas. Alann, Dr. Joshua S. Barnes, Dr. Thomas R. ^^'elch, 
Dr. \\m. H. Fish, Dr. Jos. A. A'anarsdale, Dr. D. A. Penick, Dr. 
William H. Mathews. 

And'the following constitute the members of the local bar : 

John S. Bronaugh. N. L. Bronaugh, James W. ^Mitchell, John 
H. Welch, George R. Prvor, Everet B. Hoover. 



George Nicholas* 

On the occasion of a centennial which Xicholasville celebrated 
on September 16, 1898. the history of the man for whom the coun- 
ty seat was called, becomes profoundly interesting. 

George Nicholas was born August nth, 1753, in \Mlliams- 
burg, \'a. His father was Robert Carter Nicholas, a prominent 
lawyer, a member of the Mrginia House of Burgesses (Legis- 
lature), connected with the Colonial Government of Mrginia, 
and Colonial Treasurer. He became a captain in the Continen- 
tal army, and practiced law in Charlottesville after the war. Of 
the \'irginia Convention, called to consider the Constitution of 
the United States, he was a member, and he ablv and earnestlv 



^ 



Jlidory of Jcxmmiue Goimtij, Kentucky. 93 

advocated its ado]:»ti(Mi. wliich prevailed l)y a vote of 88 for and 
78 against, and tliat only after a lengthened and even acrimonious 
<liscussion. 

This ratification was made by the convention on June 26th, 
1788 ; A'irginia ])eing the tenth state to adopt the instrument. 

( )n October 24th, 1788, Colonel Nicholas advertised in the 
Kentucky Gazette, as follows: 

"Richmond. \^., ( )ct. 24th, 1788. 
"I propose attending the General Court in the District of 
Kentucky, as an attorney, and shall be at the next March term, if 
not prevented by some unforeseen event." 

He came in the following year and settled in what is now 
Bovle but was then Mercer county. (Boyle county was not es- 
tablished until 1842.) 

As Harrodsburg and Danville were, in pioneer days, places for 
the most important conventions, and the seat of the county, it was 
doubtless for the purpose of being near the seats of justice which 
induced Colonel Nicholas to find a home in Mercer. 

The act admitting Kentucky as a state was passed June ist, 
1791, but it was not to go into effect until June ist, 1792. 

In December, 1791, a convention was elected to meet in 
Danville April 3d, 1792, to frame a State Constitution. George 
Nicholas w^as one of the men elected a member of this convention 
from Mercer county. He was the greatest lawyer in this body. 
His experience as a member of the Virginia Convention, in the 
discussion of the Constitution of the United States, and his superb 
legal training, combined with his logical! and analytical mind, 
and liis power of accurate statement, made him the man of and for 
the occasion. 

In his fortieth year, in the full tide of his mental and physical 
powers, and with a ripe jitdgmcnt. the result of military, civil and 
judicial experience, combined with a peculiarly philosophical and 
analytical mind ; it was both reasonable and proper that he should 
be tlie dominant spirit of the body. Experience subsequently 
showed that many of the provisions of the Constitution adopted 
at his suggestion, were not adapted to the conditions surrounding 
Kentucky. It onlv remained in force seven years, and was then, 
by almost the unanimous will of the people, set aside in 1799. 



94 History of Jes.'<amlnr County, Kerdncky. 

No forty-iive men ever assembled together who were more 
patriotic and who more faithfully endeavored to discharge the 
trust confided to their keeping. Benjamin Logan, Alexander 
Bullitt, Robert Breckinridge, David Rice, Samuel McDowell, Ca- 
leb Wallace, were a part of that distinguished convention, and in 
that period of Kentucky's history, they represented a courage, 
fidelity, patriotism and loyalty to the people which reached the 
highest limit of human attainment. 

The perfect knowledge Colonel Nicholas had obtained of 
the Constitution of the Ignited States and his admiration of its 
provisions, created l)y his splendid defense of it in the Virginia 
Convention, were largely used in the creation of Kentucky's first 
Constitution. His superb legal attainments, his varied knowl- 
edge, his judicial mind, his unbounded patriotism, and his thor- 
ough conception of the true principles of government, made him 
an unquestioned leader in such a body. 

The Constitution was framed and adopted in seventeen days, 
and in thirty days from the assembling of the convention a Gov- 
ernor was elected, and in sixty days a Legislature assembled un- 
der its provisions. 

Colonel Nicholas was married to Mary Smith, of Baltimore. 
One of her brothers, Sanuiel Smith, was a member of the House 
of Representatives and United States Senator for twenty-nine 
years, and another, Robert Smith, was Secretary of the Navy 
imder President Jefferson, and Secretary of State under Presi- 
dent Madison. One of his sons, S. S. Nicholas, was one of the 
most distinguished lawyers of the state. He was a Judge of the 
Court of Appeals, Judge of the Louisville Chancery Court, and 
one of the Commissioners appointed in 1850 to revise the laws ot 
Kentucky. His youngest daughter, Hetty Morrison, was the 
wife of Hon. Richard Hawes. of Paris. Ky.. at one time Provis- 
ional Governor of Kentucky. Avhile under the control of the Con- 
federate States; and he represented the Ashland District in Con- 
gress. 1837-1 841. He opened a law school at his own house, and 
taught gratuitously such men as Joseph Hamilton Daveiss. John 
Rowan, Martin D. Hardin, Robert Wickliffe. William T. Barry, 
Isham Talbott, and John Green. He moved to Bath county in 
1794, to which his interests in the old slate furnace, which was 
operated from 1790 to 1839, and was for nearly 50 years one of the 



Hiitoyy of JeKxamUw Coiaiti/, Kentnekt/. 95 

great industries of the state. Later he came to Lexington to de- 
vote himself to the practice of law. 

In 1799 he was elected Professor of the Law Department then 
added to Transylvania University, then in the zenith of its glory, 
but h(> died shortly afterwards, in Jul)', 1799, iu his forty-sixth 
_\ c:ar. 

The capital of Jessamine is named, as will be seen, from one 
of the really great men of his period. It was called for Colonel 
Nicholas throug-h the partiality of Rev. John Metcalf, who held the 
highest admiration for Nicholas, and who had known him in Vir- 
ginia, before his removal to Kentucky. 

Militia of Jessamine County. 

Even to the soldiers who participated in great battles in ]Mex- 
ico or the recent war there was never any military experience which 
left so charming memories as that of service in the old state mili- 
tia, commonly known as the "Corn Stalk Militia." It was called 
the Corn Stalk Militia because there were no arms for the troops 
and very frequently they used corn stalks in the place of guns. 
The state militia grew up with the early settlement of Kentucky. 
In those times every man was a soldier and was ready to respond 
to such call as might be made in defense of his home or in pun- 
ishment of the Indians, \vho had invaded the state. 

From 1775 down to 1793. every able-bodied man was of neces- 
sity connected with some military command. A while after the 
Indian peace of 1794, the militia organization slackened a little, 
yet it never died out as a state institution until after the Consti- 
tution of 1849-50 was enacted. 

L'p to that time every male citizen from the age of twenty-one 
to forty-five was to report for duty at all drills, in default of which 
a fine was adjudged. 

Jessamine county had two regiments, formed in different parts 
of the county, and they were required to assemble in the spring 
for battalion drill. In Septemlier they had what was called a 
"big muster," which was a brigade drill, called in that day "The 
Evolution of the Line." 

Nicholasville, the county seat, as the central point, was selected 
for this armv movement. The uniform of the officers, from briga- 




ATTEnmONT ! I 

Mh Regiment M, M. 




COMPAJ^Y ORDERS, 





Jhe foliowlg Csttrt t:^^ 'V'^'" 
mj2- "^"'s ^"usiero m the present year^ 

REGIMENTAL MUSTER on the 10th 
of October, at Nichoiasville, To o'cl<S 

BATTALLfON MUSTER on ttltg ai 
Maj at Nicholasville, I0 o'clock ^ 

f :OMPANY MUSTER on the U Sa^m. 

No guns required. By order of 

MS, ^mTEzm.ofs^^^^^ '^^''^'^^ 



MILITIA NOTICE, 1832. 



Hidonj of Je>^mmine County, Kentucky. 97 

dier-general down, consisted of epaulets, sword, red sash, high hats 
with plumes tipped with white, and a black cockade on one side. 
The great day in the county was the big muster, and from all parts 
of the county, not only the soldiers but the citizens came to 
Xicholasville, and these military ofhcers were as proud and well 
satisfied with their appearance as any army officer equipped with 
gold and tinsel, under the forms prescribed by General Miles of 
the present day. 

The drills were great occasions and were especially attractive 
to the boys, who would post themselves along the roads and watch 
the incoming of the ofificers. Standing on the fences and on high 
steps they would wait with keen zest for the uniformed men, 
and as they would see an officer coming up in his splendid attire, 
they would yell out with delight and enthusiasm : "Here comes a 
muster man." The band was not composed of scientific musi- 
cians or many pieces ; it included a tenor and bass drum and a 
fife, all of 'vbich were played by the negroes. 

The hand vrould begin the march around town playing martial 
airs, early in the morning, and they would march up and down 
the streets and thrill the crowds with their soul-stirring strains. 
First, the musicians, then the companies would fall in. 

After marching around the town, the musicians would halt at 
the court liouse, the music would cease and the orders would be 
given : 

"Fall in. Captain Crozier's Company ; fall in, Captain Hoo- 
ver's Company; fall in Captain Rohrer's Company." 

And so on, until all the companies of the regiment had been 
called and had taken their places in the line. 

When the line had been formed, the captain would go up 
and down and dress the men with his sword or cane. After the 
alignment of the companies, they would form in regiments and 
move in column to a field or pasture near the town. .\t the head 
of this cavalcade would march Brigadier-General Horine. The 
troops would move along without keeping step, some with um- 
brellas raised, some with coats, some without coats, and many 
smoking, and the brigadier-general commanding would have his 
cob pipe in his mouth — thus unconsp<5us of his military position 
and unconscious of his military bearing, as he sat on his horse 
with his back bent and his head inclined forward. 
7 



IIi4i>fi/ of Ji'-o'niiilnc ( '(Hiiiti/, Kciitiicki/. 09 

On reaching" the field, the great and striking manenver would 
be to form a hollow square. The use of this by the British 
troops had impressed it upon the soldiers' minds as a most im- 
portant accomplishment. It took a long time to get the square 
formed and sometimes took a still longer time to unform. After 
squaring and unsquaring, the command would come to parade 
rest and then would l)e extended an opportunity for notices to be 
given by the farmers — such as "farms for sale or rent, stock for 
sale, or lost live stock." After this the square would be formed 
again and from this a battle line would be stretched; then a 
counter-march would be ordered. 

( )n one occasion General Horine had his command in line 
of battle, but not remembering to reverse or about face when 
they had almost reached a high worm fence which enclosed a 
thirty-acre field, he called out : "Pull the fence down or climb 
it." As, under the orders of the commanding general, it had 
been left discretionary with them what course to pursue, they 
pulled the fence down. 

After two or three hours of drilling they would march back 
to town and were dismissed. 

Small boys and all the idlers about town moved up and down 
with the line and became as profoundly interested in the evolu- 
tions as the soldiers themselves. 

These occasions were always splendid opportunities for great 
profit of the vendors of watermelons, ginger cake, and sweet 
cider. Few Jessamine men of that day will forget Aunt Milly 
Howard and Aunt Fannie Mason as they sat at their tables and 
dispensed such ginger cake and fried chicken and fried ham as 
the world has never surpassed. 

Notwithstanding the slackness of the Corn Stalk Militia in 
Jessamine county, there were organizations of special companies 
wliich acquired great proficiency in drilling and were not only 
efficient but beautifully uniformed. 

One of these companies, raised by Capt. George S. Shanklin, 
attained great skill and was thoroughly drilled, as much so 
as any modern militia. 

Capt. Thompson Worley had a cavalry company which was 
perfectly trained. The men liad good horses, took pride in 
them, and wliile they had nothing l)Ut sabres and flintlock pistols, 
they performed cavalry evolutions in a most creditable manner. 



100 Hidory of Jessamine County, Kenhichj. 

Capt. William R. Kean organized an infantry company known 
as the Jessamine Grays. This command for a long time had 
great celebrity. The uniform was of gray cloth, with frock coat, 
the breast of which was ornamented with silver braid, and had 
silver stripes down the sides of the trousers. The hat was of 
black leather with a drooping red and white plume. 

Capt. J. D. Hill was in command of this company for many 
years. He was succeeded by Capt. Tucker Olds, of Nicholasville. 
The company was long the pride of the citizens of the county 
and it was not disbanded until near the beginning of the late war. 



Patriotic Celebrations. 

The early settlers on the Fourth of July were accustomed to 
have patriotic celebrations. They invited each other to their 
homes and in sumptuous repasts and neighborly communion cele- 
brated the important events, not only in their own history, but in 
the history of their country. Tn 1794 Col. William Price had 
such celebrations at his house. As early as 1802 formal meetings 
were held to glorify the Fourth of July. There are in existence 
now the minutes of a meeting called on the 12th of June, 1802, 
to take formal action upon the celebration of the Fourth of July 
for that year. The following copy of the doings of that meeting 
will show the character and nature of the ceremony : 

At a meeting of the citizens of Nicholasville on the 12th of 
June, 1802, Maj. Benjamin Netherland in the chair, Col. John 
Price, secretary, it was resolved, that the 26th anniversary of the 
Independence of our beloved country be celebrated on the Fourth 
of July next in Nicholasville. Thereupon, a committee of ar- 
rangements was appointed, who, in accordance with the resolu- 
tions of the meeting, present the following as the order of the day : 

Procession. 

I St. The Military Jessamine Blues, under Capt. James Price 
and Lieutenant Caldwell, will be drawn up between the residence 
of the Rev. John Metcalf and Mrs. Dillard's gate, in double file, 
wnth music on their right, will move down Main street, when the 



Hidory of Jesmmine Coioittj, Kentrnkij. 101 

procession will be formed by each class, or division, falling in the 
rear of its preceding class, or division, according to the subse- 
quent arrangement, the front class falling in the rear of the mili- 
tary. 

2nd. Rev. Mr. Metcalf's school children in the following or- 
der: No. I, at the Methodist Episcopal church. Rev. John Met- 
calf, marshal ; No. 2, at the quarter session court house. Col. John 
Price, marshal ; drawn up in front of the school room of Mrs. 
Nanc}' Lafevers, with their right on Main street. 

4th. The ladies dressed in white, at Downing & Evans' store,, 
with their right on ]\Iain street, Michael Horine, marshal. 

5th. Ladies of the town and vicinity, citizens and farmers of 
the county, in double file, at Mr. Metcalf's corner, with right on 
Main street, near Mr. Netherland's stable lot, Benjamin Hughes,. 
Stephen Frost, Col. John Mosley, marshals. 

The procession vvill move off at slow time at nine o'clock, a. 
m., to the woodland east of the town where the ceremonies of the 
day will proceed in the following order: 

First. Prayer by the Rev. John Metcalf. 

Second. ]\Iusic. 

Third. An address by the Rev. John P. Campbell. 

Fourth. Alusic. 

Fifth. Reading Declaration of Independence by Samuel H. 
Woodson. 

Sixth. An oration by Rev. Robert Stewart. 

Seventh. Prayer by Rev. John Shackelford. 

The procession will again form in the same order and return 
to town, dispersing at the points where they joined the proces- 
sion in the morning and in the same order. 

Michael Horine, Col. John Price and William Caldwell are 
appointed marshals. 

The ladies and gentlemen of Jessamine county are most re- 
spectfully and earnestly invited to celebrate our Independence 
like patriotic men whose fathers were engaged in a bloody civil 
war for seven years. 

Many of the old soldiers who served their country in the 
armies of Washington and Greene are among us and will be pres- 



Hl^ovij of Jexxaiii'uK' Cinditij. Koducki/. lOrJ 

cnt and participate in celebrating- the 26th anniversary oi' the free 
dom and independence of onr country. 

John Price, 

Coh Wm. Price, 

Hugh Chfisman, 

MichaH Horine, 

John Metcalf, 

Joseph Crockett, 

Robert Crockett, 

Caleb McDowell, 
Committee of Arrangements, June 12, 1802. 

The Michael Horine referred to in these proceedings, was an 
uncle of the late Henry Horine and John Horine. Michael Hor- 
ine married a sister of General Muhlenberg, a Revolutionary 
soldier, and for whom Muhlenberg" county, in this state, is named. 
He settled in Jessamine county in 1799 and afterwards moved to 
Ohio, in 1808, where he became principal of a female school. 

The Hugh Chrisman mentioned is the ancestor of the large 
Chrisman family in Jessamine county. He was born in Rock- 
ingham county, \a., in 1769, and died in 1849. His son. General 
Henry Chrisman, long lived in Jessamine as one of its most dis- 
tinguished citizens and died in 1876. He lived on Hickman 
creek, a few miles from Nicholasville. 



Men in Indian Wars Antedating 1812. 

James Hemphill, an uncle of Andrew Hemphill, served under 
General Wayne in the campaign agamst the Indians, and was in 
the battle of the Fallen Timbers, August 20, 1794; Terrence Mc- 
Grath. who was the father of the late horseman. Price McGrath, 
lived in Jessamine county, and was also in that campaign. In 
this battle General Wayne relied upon the charge of the Kentucky 
mounted infantry to draw the fire of the Indians, and then sent in 
his foot men, with the bayonet, before which the Red Men precip- 
itately fled. The blow inflicted secured peace and forever stopped 
Indian incursions into Kentucky. 

Price McGrath, the son of Terrence McGrath, was born in 
>s'ich(!lasville, and in his boyhood learned the tailor's trade. He 



104 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 

subsequently moved to Louisville, and while there he became in- 
terested in the horse business, which he so successfully man- 
aged, and afterward founded his splendid breeding establishment 
for race horses in Fayette county, near Lexington. 



Soldiers in the War of 18J2. 

Jessamine county sent soldiers to the war of 1812, commanded 
by the following captains : Capt. Jas. C. Price, Capt. Mason Sin- 
gleton, Capt. Richard Hightower, Capt. Patrick Gray, Capt. Thos. 
Lewis, Capt. Robt. Crockett, Capt. Augustine Bower. Quite a 
large number of Captain Price's company were killed at the bat- 
tle of the River Raisin, while Capt. Tlios. Lewis' company was in 
Dudley's defeat at Fort Meigs, May 15, 1813, and there lost a 
large number of its members, who were either killed during the 
fight or murdered by the Indians after the surrender. 

The following letter, written by a member of Captain Bow- 
ers' company in the battle of the Thames, will be of interest to 
those whose ancestors were engaged in that fight. It was written 
by Nathaniel Adams, who died some years since in Pulaski county, 
and was the maternal uncle of S. M. Duncan. There are parts 
of it that relate to purely personal matters, which are omitted 
from the text as published : 

MR. ADAMS' LETTER TO MISS NANCY STINSON. 

Put-In-Bay, on the Shore of the Great Lake. 
Oct. 15, 1813. 
My Dearest Nancy : 

I reached this muddie den of a village on Monday, the nth. 
I was in the battle on Tuesday, October 5th, and was not hurt by 
the bullets of the British and Indians, though I was in ver\' great 
danger, as the company I was in formed the second line when 
Colonel Johnson made his men charge the enemy. The Indians 
raised a loud yell and opened a severe fire on our advance. 
About seventy or eighty red-coated British soldiers and am equal 
number of Indians opened a heavy fire on us again, emptying 
eighteen saddles, killing twelve and wounding more than thirty 
of our men in the front line. Captain Bowers rushed up in a 
moment and ordered our coinpany to advance instantly. Our 



H!4ory of Jesmmlne County, Kciducki/. 105 

men rushed forward in a rapid gallop over the front line of the 
British, who stood their ground like men wlio preferred being 
shot down rather than surrender. Our company killed several 
British soldiers who had surrendered, and who attempted to es- 
cape. When we dispersed their arni}^ in the charge, we cap- 
tured over five hundred prisoners. I saw a large Indian wander- 
ing along the river with two guns and a bag of fried fish. I 
called the attention of Captain Boiwers to the Indian, w-ho, to all 
appearances, was going to steal a horse that belonged to one of 
Colonel Trotter's men. Captain Bower ordered three of the men 
to catch him. All three of us dashed at him. He raised one of 
the g"uns and fired; the ball came very close to my left ear. In- 
stantly John Doolin shot him dead. He had fried fish in a dirty 
bag, and six scalps were in the bag, separated from his dinner of 
fish by a dirty, old towel, which was marked by stains of blood. 
We scalped him and left him lying on his back. John Doolin 
wanted to cut a razor strap from his thigh, but I objected to this 
and as we were picking up our wounded and sending them 
across the lake, I saw no more of the Indian. 

War of I8I2-J8I5. 

The War of 1812 was one in which Kentucky figured more 
prominently than any other state. The warlike spirit had been un- 
daunted by Indian aggressions on the frontier from 1783 down 
to i8ti, when the men of Kentucky fought at Tippecanoe, and 
where the iDrilliant and popular Joseph Hamilton Daveiss and 
other gallant Kentuckians gave their blood for the defense and 
preservation of the Northwestern territory. Kentucky, ofi and 
on, had in this war over 25,000 soldiers. She gave some of her 
noblest blood in the battles it produced and manifested a patriot- 
ism and valor A\hich gave her increased renown. To this war 
Jessamine county sent, first and last, 600 soldiers. 

England had never accepted gracefully the result of the 
Revolutionary War. The Northwestern Indians were fed and 
maintained by the British of^cials in Canada. They wore 
British clothes, used British guns and knives and traded with and 
for British gold. The war was brought about by a series ol 
events, but there were two principal causes : 



Hixtonj of Jemiutinr County, Keiduchi. 107 

First. England claimed the right to stop and examine, any- 
where on the high seas, American vessels engaged in commerce, 
and to take from such vessels all British subjects. 

"Once a subject, always a subject," a favorite maxim of John 
Ihill, was interpreted in the most offensive sense and any man 
who was supposed to be an Irishman, Scotchman, etc., was taken 
and forced to serve in the British navy, even though he was an 
American citizen. Diplomacy, always slow to redress wrongs, 
was in these cases extremely tardy, and thousands of American 
citizens were thus relentlessly forced to serve a country whose 
allegiance they repudiated. The necessities of the English 
government were very great. Its navy, greatly increased by the 
war with the French people led by Napoleon, could only be main- 
tained by impressment, and these American ships were most at- 
tractive places for that sort of work. It took the news of these 
seizures a long time to reach home, and then a long time to get 
to the State Department, and then there was a long correspond- 
ence before even a hearing could be obtained. In the mean time, 
the men w^ere in the navy and driven 'by the lash. or other more 
dreadful punishment to this hateful service. 

Second : The United States, in the thirty years that had 
passed since the Revolutionary War, had built up a large ocean 
carrying trade. England, through the ibilockade of European 
ports, claimed the right to seize all American ships and cargoes 
l)'3und for any blockaded port in Europe (and they were nearly all 
blockaded) unless these ships, going to or returning from such 
ports, first e'ltcred an English port and registered and obtained 
license to prosecute their voyage. 

With such clain:s on the part of any government, war could 
not long be avoided, and so on the i8th of June, 1812, Congress 
declared war. 

As soon as the news of the war reached Kentucky and before 
the President's recjuisition came to the Governor, volunteer com- 
panies all over the state rushed to offer tJhemselves to the Gov- 
ernor. Kentucky's quota was 5.500 of the 100,000 called for. 
Weeks before the actual declaration of war had been made, re- 
cruiting" ofihces had been opened and war meetings throughout 
the state gave assurance that however lukewarm Xcw Entrland 



108 Hidovy of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 

might be, Kentucky would give the government the heartiest 
support. 

By August the T4th, the Kentucky quota was ready. Jes- 
samine sent two fuH companies and scattering soldiers into other 
commands. 

One of these companies was commanded by Capt. James C. 
Price, a son of Col. William Price. The other was commanded 
by Capt. Patrick Gray. The roster of these two companies was 
as follows : 



Roll of Capt, James C, Price^s Company. 

Lewis' regiment, Kentucky A^olunteers. War of 1812. 

Captain — James C. Price. Lieutenant — William Caldwell. 
Ensign — Daniel Bourne. Sergeants — William E. Price, David 
Richardson, John Shanklin, John Scott. Corporals — Nathaniel 
H. Caldwell, John Ficklin, Solomon Smith, Elisha Williams. 

Privates — Barkleye, William; Barr, George; Bennett, James;. 
Brice, John T. ; Brown, Thomas; Carlton, Isaac; Carlton, Noah; 
Carlton, George ; Callender, Jacob ; Conner, Rice ; Daugherty, 
John ; Dedman, James ; Easley, Pleasant ; Edwards, Thos. ; Elkin,. 
Benj. ; East, Elijah; Finney, James; Forset, James; Forsee^ 
Stephen ; Farrow, John ; Goin, John ; Haggard, John ; Hicks, 
James; Hews, Charles, Hushman, Matthew; Kindred, Edward;, 
Krickbaum, John ; Lewis, Wm. A. ; Moss, Pleasant ; Morgan, W. ; 
McGrath, Terrance; McConnell, M. G. ; Neal, George; Nether- 
land, John; Overstreet, W. ; Rice, Joseph; Rice, Geo. W. ; 
Richards, Alexander ; Ramsey, John ; Richa:-J!:on, Robt. ; Scott, 
Joseph ; Scott, Joseph ; Simmons, David ; Skeene, William ; Tay- 
lor, John; Underwood, Edward; Woodson, Obediah ; Wilson, 
Thos.; Ward, William; Webber, Benj.; Walker, James; Ward, 
Geo. S. ; Young, Joel ; Young, Richard. 



Roll of Capt. Patrick Gray^s Company. 

Lewis' regiment. Kentucky Volunteers. War of 1812. 
Captain — Patrick Gray. Lieutenant — James Fletcher- 
Ensign — James Clark. Sergeants — William Sechrest, Thomas 



Hidory of Jei^samine County, Kentucky. 109 

Reed, John Batts, Geo. Chrisman. Corporals — Robt. Dun- 
Aviddie, Sam'l Huckstep, James Norrel. 

Privates — Anderson, Oliver ; Armstrong, Livy ; Arnett, John ; 
Bagwell, Cary ; Bishop, John ; Brown, Samuel ; Bradshaw, 
Smith; Biirk, Benj.; Campbell. James; Cardwell, Sam'l; Card- 
well, James; Cary. Melford ; Clark, Geo. W. ; Croslin, Benj.; 
Downes, Penore P. ; Dickerson, Wm. ; Dickerson, David ; El- 
more, Edward; Howard, Achilles; Hopkins, Thos. ; Hutcherson, 
Sam'l ; Hunter, Chas. ; Jeter, Henry ; Jimerson, David ; Jimerson, 
Wm.; Jimerson, John; Johnson, John; Kennady, Wm. ; Lana, 
Henry; Leon, Moses; Lusk, James; Marshall, James; Marshall, 
Wm. ; May, Lindsay; Messick, Nathan; Morris, Henry; Myers, 
John; Miller, Francis; McClure, Martin; Nevens, Henry; Newal, 
Armstrong ; Patterson, John ; Pilcher, Louis ; Read, Peter ; Rob- 
inson, Michael ; Rusk, Robert ; Sales, Thos. P. ; Spencer, Ab- 
salom ; Spiers. Greenbery ; Summers, James ; Summers, Thos. ; 
Smith, Peter ; Stype, John ; Shelton, Thos. ; Thompson, Pitman ; 
Venable, Hamden S.; Waters, Lewis; Wallace,' James ; Whorton, 
Joseph; Wallace, Abraham; Welsh, Alexander; Willis, John; 
Willis, William ; Wager, Absalom. 

These companies were part of the 5th Kentucky Regiment, 
commanded by Lieut.-Col. William Lewis and Majors Joseph 
Robb and Benjamin Graves. The other companies constituting 
the regiment were those of Captains Hart, Hamilton and Me- 
gowan from Fayette, Captain Williams, from Montgomery, and 
Captains Martin and Brassfield from Clark. They were ordered 
to assemble in Lexington on the 14th of August. They were en- 
listed on the 15th at Georgetown. 

An immense concourse, estimated at 20,000, greeted the 
soldiers of this regiment at Lexington. Revolutionary sires, 
hoary with age, wives whose hearts were filled with apprehension 
and dread, sweethearts whose trustful and tearful eyes told the 
story of love for men in the ranks, children who looked with 
strange wonder upon the brilliant scene of these uniformed 
soldiers passing in review before the vast and sympathetic 
crowd, came from far and near to say good-bye and god-speed to 
the country's defenders. Each company paraded in its own 
uniform, and each vied with the other in evolution and manlv 



Hldorij of Jei^Mim'uie Couiifi/, Kt'nfnckij. Ill 

bearing". None surpassed the Jessamine lilues under Captain 
l*rice and the other Jessamine company under Captain Gray, and 
the vast crowds of their fellow citizens felt a just pride at their 
splendid appearance as they marched so promptly at their 
country's call. 

They formed on Water street in Lexington and then marched 
into Alain street and from thence out to the Georgetown road. 
They marched only about four miles and then camped for the 
night and next day went into camp at Georgetown. The Lewis 
Regiment was reinforced by those of Col. John M. Scott and Col. 
John .\llen, and the\' were formed into a brigade under Gen. 
John Payne. 

On the following Sunday the brigade was reviewed by Gov. 
Charles Scott and Generals John Payne and James Winchester, 
After the review the soldiers and the crc>wd assembled and listened 
to an address from Henry Clay and a sermon from the eloquent 
Dr. James Blythe, who was then president of Transylvania. Mr. 
Clay reviewed the causes of the war and set forth the many and 
unbearable grievances which had forced the government to de- 
clare war. and closed with an appeal to the troops to remember 
that Kentucky was renowned for the bravery of her people and 
that they nuist remember that they had both the glory and the 
prestige of Americans and Kentuckians to maintain. The vast 
crowd departed after these patriotic, soul-stirring words and the 
soldiers went into camj), and a few days after marched to New- 
port to receive their arms and equipment. The most of the 
march was made in drenching rains, which were ominous of the 
hardships and misfortunes which awaited them in the campaigns 
upon which they had entered. 



Dudley^s Defeat. 

A part of the Jessamine troops were in what was known as 
Dudley's defeat, which was fought on May 5, 1813, on the left 
bank of the Maumee river, opposite to Fort Meigs, a few miles 
south of Toledo, Ohio. 

Col. William Dudley's regiment was part of Gen. Green Clay's 
brigade of Kentucky volunteers. After leaving Newport, tiiev 



112 Hidory of Je.'<mmine County, Kentucky. 

had a fatiguing march for men and ammunition, and they found 
these on approaching the open boats lodged on the left bank of 
the Maumee river, within hearing of the cannon of Fort Meigs, 
where General Harrison was then besieged by the British and a 
large force of Indians. 

At twelve o'clock on the night of May 4th, when General Har- 
rison was informed of General Clay's approach, he directed Gen- 
eral Clay to land 700 men on the west side where the British were, 
charge their batteries, spike their cannon, and immediately re- 
turn to their boats and cross over to the American fort. The 
remainder of Clay's troops were to land on the east bank and force 
their way into the fort by sorties from the garrison. Dudley's 
regiment was ordered to perform the first service. They were 
successful in the beginning, but the bravery of the Kentuckians 
and a misunderstanding of orders drew them into an ambuscade 
where they were cut oiT and surrounded by overwhelming num- 
bers, and the apparent victory was turned into dreadful defeat. 

When the Kentuckians landed they marched at once toward 
the battery. This battery was taken without a struggle. It was 
left in possession of two companies, but it was shortly after taken 
by the British and forced to retreat to their boats and cross the 
river, when they reached Fort Meigs in safety. 

The Kentuckians advanced and charged the Indians, and after 
seeing that they were outnumbered they attempted to retreat to 
the battery. They found this no longer in possession of their 
friends, but manned by British soldiers in large numbers, who 
opened fire upon them. Arriving without order and being taken 
completely by surprise, they were compelled to surrender or be 
shot down. They surrendered. They were robbed by the In- 
dians, who inflicted blows upon the prisoners at their pleasure. 
Most of the Americans were stripped of their clothes, and they 
were told by the British soldiers that the Indians intended to 
make them run the gauntlet, and just before the Americans 
reached the fort, the Indians taking advantage of their helpless 
condition, whipped and bruised and killed them as they pleased. 
xA. large number of them were shot down and scalped. One In- 
dian shot four prisoners and scalped them in the presence of their 
comrades, and in the presence of the British ofificers these Ken- 
tucky troops were subjected to all sorts of indignities, and even 



Hutory of Jexxamine County, Kentucky. 113 

nuirdered. Captain Lewis was killed in the battle, together with 
a number of the men from Jessamine county. 



Battle of the Thames. 

The blundering and misfortunes and the disasters which at- 
tended the War of 1812 in the Northwest, in the end took a turn. 
The American arms were at last to receive some reward. The 
great naval battle fought on Lake Erie, on the loth of September, 
1813, had destroyed the British fleet under Captaim Barclay; not 
a single ship escaped. The gallant Perry had grandly ac- 
complished his task and told his owai story of the victory and 
success in those glorious words. "We have met the enemy and 
they are ours." 

More than a hundred Kentuckians who knew nothing of ships 
and had never sailed on any water but rivers, volunteered to serve 
•on the vessels under Perry, and they deserved part of the credit 
for that superb victory. 

(ieneral Proctor and his Indian allies under Tecumseh, after 
tlie destruction of the British Heet, were safely shut in upon 
English soil. General Harrison was not slow to avail himself 
of the effect this naval victory had secured, and he at once 
•crossed into Canada and commenced his pursuit of Proctor and 
Tecumseh. 

The horses of the Kentucky troops were corralled on the 
Michigan shore ; they were surrounded by brush and trees cut 
down and pickets driven so as to make a complete enclosure. 
When the pursuit was determined upon it was impossible to se- 
cure guards for the horses and camps other than by draft. No 
man was willing to accept such inglorious service unless by com- 
pulsion. 

The capture of the British vessels enabled General Harrison 
to make an immediate crossing and with five brigades of Ken- 
tuckians and 120 L^nited States regulars, he landed on the Canada 
side on the 27th of September. 

Col. Richard M. Johnson's Kentucky mounted infantry was 
the only cavalry in the invading army. It was a splendid regi- 
Jiient of thirteen companies and contained nearly 1,400 men. 
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Hidory of JexMn^iUic Goiod;/, Kentnclaj. 115 

With this regiment was detailed one of the Jessamine companies 
under Captain Bower. 

The river Thames is a small stream rising in Canada east of 
Detroit and emptying into Lake St. Clair. About forty miles east 
of Detroit there was a small Moravian settlement, and after a 
dreadful and tiring- march of a week, late in the afternoon of Oc- 
tober 5, 1813, the American army was in such close pursuit that 
Proctor and Tecumseh were forced to ofifer battle. 

Proctor had 600 British regulars and Tecumseh had 1,500 
Indians. Tliev were formed along the river bottom, with Tecum- 
seh on the left, and there awaited the approach of the American 
armv, which was composed almost entirely of Kentuckians. 
Governor Shell)y had abandoned his duties as governor and as- 
sumed the place of commander-in-chief of the Kentucky forces. 
Both he and General Harrison had upon their staffs some of the 
most brilliant men of the state — Geo. Walker, William T. Barry, 
John Speed Smith, Gen. John Adair, J. J. Crittenden and Percival 
Butler. 

Colonel Johnson had during the previous months trained his 
regiment to charge on horseback, and so soon as General Har- 
rison learned that the British were formed in open order he di- 
rected Colonel Johnson to charge with his regiment mounted. 

Colonel Johnson discovered that the front of the British 
regulars was too narrow for the use of all his men. Pie divided 
his regiment, gave half of it to his brother, James Johnson, Lieut. - 
Colonel. Colonel Johnson called for an advance guard of 
twenty men to move in advance of the troops. He had promised 
the wives and mothers and sweethearts and friends of his troops, 
when they assembled at Stamping Ground to start for the war, that 
lie ^^'ould in ever\- way protect their lives in the campaig"n on whicli 
the\' had entered with him. He conceived the idea that if he could 
draw the fire of the Indians upon an advance guard, that the main 
force could charge and ride over the enemy's line before it could 
reload, and that, though he might sacrifice the twenty men he 
would save heavy mortality among the remainder of his force. 

It was a heroic thought, and it was carried out in a heroic 
way. Nineteen men gallantly volunteered to ride with Colonel 
Johnson in advance on the enemv : of these onlv ten are known. 



116 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 

The advance was placed under the command of Col. William 
Whitley, who was a private in Captain Davidson's company. Of 
the members only the following names are known : Lieut. 
Samuel Logan, Coleman's company ; L. L. Mansfield, Stucker's 
company; Benjamin Chambers, quartermaster; Robert Payne, 
Stucker's company ; Dr. Samuel Theobald, Coleman's company ; 
William Webb, Stucker's company; Garrett Wall, forage major; 
Eli Short, forage master. 

Lieut. -Col. Johnson at once charged the British regulars. 
He passed through their line, then turned and fired upon them 
in the rear. They immediately surrendered. Col. Richard M. 
Johnson, with half the regiment, with the advance guard in front, 
charged the Indians who at once poured in a deadly fire upon the 
advance guard, all of whom were either killed, wounded, or had 
their horses shot under them, except Dr. Samuel Theobald, of 
Lexington. The brave and heroic William Wdiitley was killed 
at the first fire on the advance guard. 

In these later days, when acts of heroism are applauded with 
such vigor and enthusiasm, it is well to remind the world of such 
deeds as those of Gen. William O. Butler and Johnson's advance 
guard at the river Thames. These lose nothing in comparison 
with the conduct and courage of any men of any age. 

Proctor's regulars were all captured, the Indians were routed, 
Tecumseh was killed, his force was scattered, and peace in the 
Northwest was at once assured. Proctor himself abandoned his 
men, his carriage and baggage, and fled precipitately from the 
field. His guilty conscience smote him as he heard the Ken- 
tucky hosts on entering the battle, with mighty shout cry out, 
"Remember the Raisin." He knew that his perfidy and bar- 
barity deserved the death that the comrades of the murdered 
lieroes of Raisin ^vloulld inflict upon him, and like a coward he fled 
from the just wrath of the American soldiers. 

In this splendid battle a large number of the men from Jessa- 
mine participated, and part of its glory belongs to those who com- 
posed the Jessamine troops. 

The accompanying letter written by a Jessamine man who 
])articipated in this conflict will be Doth interesting and historical : 



Hidory of Jexsamiiie County, Kentucky. 117 

"Bass Island, Lake Erie, October lo, 1813. 

"My Dear Father: I have only time to inform you and my 
friends that I am now confined to my bed with severe rheumatism 
in my legs. I am unable to walk, but am very kindly treated 
Frenchman who served in our armies under General Washington 
and received a severe shot in the left hip joint at the battle of 
Princeton, he has lived in this dreary country thirty years en- 
gaged in fishing on the lake. Our company under Captain 
Bowen was in the battle of Thames river on the 5th. A cannon 
ball killed Captain Bowen's horse in the beginning of the battle, 
but he soon got another one much stronger and active than the 
horse he brought from home. After Commander Perrie gained 
the victory on the lake, the Barbarian Proctor abandoned the 
post at Maiden and took a ; position on tlie river Thames. His 
rapid movements, we have leamed since the battle, was very an- 
noying and displeasing to his Indian allies. This morning Cap- 
tain Bowen called to see me in company with Captain Danfield 
of the British army. I heard Captain Danfield say that the In- 
dian chief Tecumsey was very mad at General Proctor for leaving 
his Indian brethren exposed to the vengeance of our soldiers. 
Danfield said that he heard the Indian chief address Proctor in 
very severe language about his leaving Maidens. It was also 
stated by the English ofihcer that Proctor was fairly outgeneraled 
by Harrison and was unable to escape with all his baggage, be- 
ing hard pressed by him in every move up the Thames. After 
a great deal of heavy marching and loss of sleep both armies met 
in the vicinity of a Dunkard settlement called Moravian town, 
which was deserted, not a human oeing in it when the fight took 
place October 5th. The battle did not last very long, but it was 
fierce and savage. The Indians under their Chief Tecumsey 
were in possession of a thick woods, who, with the British in- 
fantrv had formed their line of battle on ground which gave them 
some advantage over our troops. When the fight opened I saw 
Gen. Harrison with Commodore Perrie who was in the battle and 
was acting as aid, he and Captain Butler. Colonel Cass who was 
a very large man had the post of honor and led the front line. 
Colonel Johnson, of Scott county, with the mounted men was or- 
dered to charge at full speed, and break their line. Johnson 



History of Jemdiihie Countij, Kndiicki/. 119 



e 



rushed along- the hue hat off and gave command in a loud voic 
that now was the time to fight, and m an instant his mounted men 
including Captain Bowen's company were rushing on the lines 
of the enemv. At first our horses recoiled on receiving the heavy 
fire from the British and Indians, yet it was only momentarily, the 
voice of Colonel Cass and our Colonel Trotter was heard amid the 
roaring of musketry, the enemy run in every direction, we were 
completely victorious. Governor Shelby whose presence on the 
field was greeted by thousands. The Indian chief Tecumsey 
was killed, over 500 of the enemy were taken in by our men, 80 
of the English were killed and over 100 Indians were left on the 
field. Come to Newport after me and bring three feather beds in 
the wagon, as I can not bear jolting. Your son, 

"George T. Chrisman. 
"Hugh Chrisman, Jessamine Co., Ky." 

The following extracts from a letter, written by John Nether- 
land, who was a son of Maj. Benjamin Netherland, will prove in- 
teresting and show how the men from Jessamine acted in the 
battle of the Thames : 

"On the Thames, October 7, 1813. 

"My Dear Parents : I never wanted to see you so badly in 
mv life. After the massacre of so many of the company of the 
brave Captain Price at the river Raisin, I succeeded in making 
mv escape, after running seventeen miles in snow over two feet 
deep. I joined the main body of the army under General Har- 
rison and served with Colonel Johnson in the battle which took 
place day before yesterday. I stood on the shore of lake Erie on 
Sunday, the loth of September, and saw Captain Perry whip hell 
out of the British fleet on the lake. As soon as they were whipped 
on the water, General Harrison made us all get on board of the 
ships of Captain Perry and sailed to Canada. When the army 
landed we marched in pursuit of the d — d murderers and cut- 
throats. We came up with them at the river Thames on the 5th 
of October, gave the devils a sound thrashing and took over seven 
liundred prisoners and shot to death five Indians for breaking 
their paroles five days before the battle. It took old Governor 
Shelby a long time to keep our company from scalping twenty 



120 Hidory of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 

English soldiers for giving rum to the Indians and furnishing 
them with guns and powder to murder our people. We are now 
burying the dead and will leave here as soon as we can hunt up 
all who are wounded and unable to get home. When I come 
home I can tell you of as much suffering in this army as you ever 
suffered in the Revolutionary War. I must say that every man 
and ofhcer from Jessamine was game and did his duty without 
fear or favor. Billy Caldwell and Lieut. Ebenezer Price, brother 
of Captain Price, was like a mad bull in battle. He 
was brave on all occasions and he and Billy Caldwell 
could hallo louder than any men in the army. They 
were ever ready to fight. I send you this letter by Noah Carlton, 
who goes to Newport and who will send it to you from Lexington. 
Don't let brother Ben go frollicking about on my horses. Be- 
fore I left home he was in the habit of letting the young women 
have my horses to hunt grapes and persimmons on Hickman 
creek. I will be at home in five weeks. 

"Your oldest son, 

"John Netherland." 

Jessamine County Soldiers who Battled at Thames. 

Jessamine county had two companies in the battle of the 
Thames, fought June 13, 1813. The two companies were 
mounted men and were in Col. George Trotter's regiment. Capt. 
Gustavus Bower commanded one of these companies. He was 
born near Fredericksburg, Ya... in 1786 and settled in Nicholas- 
ville in 1810, as a physician. When the War of 1812 was de- 
clared he raised the following company, which was in the battle 
of the Thames: 

Captain — Gustavus Bower. Lieutenant — Bartholomew Kin- 
dred. Ensign — Smith Bradshaw. Sergeants— Joshua High- 
tower 1st, R. Michael Bower 2d, Peter Withers 3d, Robt. D. 
Overstreet 4th. Corporals — Geo. T. Chrisman ist, Reuben 
Bennett, 2d, Wm. Wilson 3d, Benj. Bradshaw, Jr., 4th. 

Privates — Allison, Jno. ; Bird, Jno. ; Bourne, Daniel ; Brad- 
shaw, Benj.; Bustard, David; Campbell, Jno.; Campbell. Wm.; 
Carroll, Jno.; Cobb, Thos. ; Connor, Rice; Connor, Wm. R. ; 
Corr, Jas. ; Casby, Chas. ; Casby, James ; Crockett, Jno. W. ; 



History of Jessamine Goinifi/, Kentucky. 121 

Crutcher, James; Davenport, Jno. F. ; Davidson, Richard; Davis, 
James ; DeMoss, Asa ; Dickerson, Fontaine ; Dickerson, James ; 
Dougherty, James ; Duncan, James ; East, James ; Fitzgerald, 
Francis; P^assee, John; Gihiian, James; Gray, David; Haggard, 
Jno.; Hawkins, Thos. ; Fligbee, James H.; Higginbotham, Jesse; 
Hunter, Davidson ; Johnson, John G. ; Lewis, Daniel ; McCarly, 
Dennis; McConnell, Andrew; McCune, Jno. L. P.; McDaniel, 
Thos.; Miles, Benj.; Miles, James; Murrain, Wm. ; Pennington, 
Saml. ; Moss, Wm. ; Powers, Samuel ; Reynolds, Wm. ; Rice, 
Thos. N. ; Richards, Alexander; Robertson, Michael; Scott, 
James ; Shaw, John ; Shearer, Caleb ; Shelton, Wm. ; Sike, David ; 
Smith, Adam; Smith, Alexander; Stipe, David; Stipe, Henry; 
Stipe, Jacob ; Taylor, Samuel ; Taylor, William ; Thompson, 
Alex.; Thornton, Elijah; Trister, Peter; Turner, Robt. ; Walker, 
Reuben ; Wallace, Thomas ; Walters, Thomas ; Ward, Geo. S. ; 
Welch, Alexander; Willis, Drury; Wilson, W. M. S. ; Woods, 
James ; Zimmerman, John. 

Capt. Mason Singleton, of the Keene neighborhood, also 
raised a company which was in Trotter's regiment. The follow- 
ing is a list of the company : 

Capt. Alason Singleton's Company. 

Captain — ]\Iason Singleton. Lieutenant — Benj. Williams. 
Ensign — Thomas Haydon. Sergeants — Joel Turnham ist, 
Wm. Scott 2d, Jesse Hayden 3d. 

Privates — Sallee, Edward ; Burton, Thos. ; Conklin, Hugh ; 
Ellison, Thos.; Evans, Andrew; Ficklin, Thomas; Frost, Jno.; 
Gatewood, Gabriel; Hampton, Stephen; Haydon, Ezekiel ; Hav- 
don. Jno.; Holloway, Samuel; Hughes, Chas. ; Hundley, Jno.; 
Lambkins, Daniel ; McVey, Jno. ; Moore, Joel P. ; Alorrow, Jno. ; 
jMoseley, Ewd. ; Xeal, Jno.; Proctor, Isaiah; Proctoi, Thos.; 
Reed, Phillip ; Reynolds, Drake ; Rice, Richard ; Richardson, 
Jesse ; Poper, Jesse ; Schofield, Samuel ; Sharewood, Wm. ; 
Singleton, Lewis; Smith, James; Smith, Wm. ; Starr, Henry; 
Steel, Darbey G. ; Webster, Christopher ; Wells, Jacob ; Williams, 
Elijah ; Williams. Thos. ; Willis, Lewis ; Wilson, Nathan ; Wilson, 
Alex.; Woods, Richard; Woods, Christopher; Young, Lewis; 
Fizer, Jacob ; Jenkins, Henry. 



Hidorif of Jr!=.mi)\in(' Coindij, Knitucki/. 123 

These captains, as well as their men. all acted a courageous 
and handsome part in the battle. Captain Bower, after the war, 
married a daui^hter of Col. Joseph Crockett, and went to George- 
town to practice medicine. Me subsequently removed to Pal- 
myra. Mo., where he died in 1869. 

The following is also the list of the company of Capt. Richard 
H. Hightower, in 17th C'nited States, engaged in the War of 1812: 

Captain — Richard Hightower. 1st Lieutenant — Thomas C. 
Graves. Sergeants — Lucius C. Pleasants 1st, Benj. Segar 2d, 
Jesse Denilhess, 3d. 

Privates — Acton, \Vm.; Alison, Jno. ; Andrews, Robt.*. Bar- 
ton, Karswell ; Bates. Alfred ; Black, Beverly A. ; Blythe, Williani 
pjyron. Jno.; Camp, Wm. ; Carter, Jno.; Casey, Joshua; Cesgar 
Thos. ; Childers, Thos. ; Cooly, Jno. ; Cook, Matthew ; Craig 
Walter ; Davis, William ; Delaney, Willis ; Denore, Baldwin 
Dobbs, Jno. ; Dyne, Andrew ; Emmerson, Wm. ; P'arrow, Isham 
Fisher, Jno.; Fowler. James; Fowler, Thos.; Gentry, Zebedee 
Gohagen, Wm. ; Goodlett, Wm. ; Grindstaff, Isaac; Ingsley. Jas. 
Hanley, Thos. H.; Hobson, Bennett; Hope, Geo.; James, Saml. 
Johnson, Wm. ; Lane, Jno.; McCarty, David; McDaniel, Wm. 
McKenzie, Jno.; Martin, Jas.; Mathews, Philip; Maxwell, Jno. 
Mayfield. Sutherland; Morgan, J.; Murphy, David; Murrane, J. 
Murrane, Mark. ; Murrane, Tom ; Pagget, James ; Pagget, Thos. 
Pogue, Jno.; Ihxwitt. Edmund; Price, Jno.; Ralston, Alex. 
Reed, Adam ; Reed, Robt. ; Scroggins, Wm. ; Shaw, Jno. ; Shimp, 
Geo. ; vShover, Simon ; Smith, Richard ; Stewart, Rice ; Sumer- 
field, Ephraim ; Thompson, James; Tiller, Jno.; Walker, Jere- 
miah ; Webb, Adam ; ^^dlite. Chas. ; Williams, Silas ; Winchester, 
Peter ; W^ood, Tno. 



Roll of Capt. Robert Crockett^s Company. 

Roll of Capt. Robert Crockett's Company, Kentucky Mounted 
Volunteer Militia — Commanded by Lieut.-Col. James Allen. 
War of T 8 12. 

Captain — Robert Crockett. Lieutenant — John C. Morrison. 
Ensign — Henry Lindsey. Sergeants — Jonathan Robinson, ist, 
Alexander Logan, 2d, William Mead, 3d, John Lawny, 4th. 



124 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 

Privates — Armstrong", Sanniel ; Bank, Ephraini ; Baxter, 
Samuel; Brownlee, John; Bobb, William; Butler, Samuel; Bond, 
Corntlii's; Crockett, John W.; Crockett, Samuel C. ; Carr, 
Thomas ; Cloud, Sam'l G. ; Decreet, Joseph ; Duncan, James ; 
Dougherty, James; Fracher, Charles; Fink, John; Fracher, 
John; Gaunt, William; Harrison, Jos. C. ; Jewet, Matthew; 
Logan, Samuel; Moore, Angus; Messock, Isaac; McCall, Will- 
iam ; McCornell, William ; Parmer, James ; Rankin, Adam ; 
Roberts, John; Ramsey, Robert; Royall, William; Smith, John; 
Tadloer, Andrew ; Talbot, Jonathan ; \'enable, James ; Villers, 
George ; Wardlow, John ; Walker, Matthew ; Young, Leavin. 

Roll of Capt, Thomas Lewis^ Company. 

Roll of Capt. Thomas Lewis' company of infantry of the Ken- 
tucky Militia, detached — Commanded by Lieut.-Col. William 
Dudley. War of 1812. 

Captain — I'homas Lewis. Lieutenant — George S. Herndon. 
Ensign — William Sally. Sergeants — William Moss ist, Henry 
King, 2d, William Roach, 3d, Newton H. Tapp, 4th. Corporals 
— William Dunn, ist, Thomas Payne, 2d, Eliphalet Roan, 3d, 
George Doxen, 4th. 

Privates — Acres, Larkin ; Aldridge, Joshua ; Anderson, 
James; Attsman, Henry; Baker, Lewis; F>all, Henry; Baxter, 
James ; Bourne, John ; Bowman, John ; Brockman, Aaron ; 
Brooner, Davis ; Brown, Samuel ; Buskitt, David ; Busley, Wil- 
liam; Butler, Wm. W. ; Castle, John; Clark, James; Cromwell, 
Oliver ; Davis, Jarred ; Dunnegan, David ; Easley, Obediah ; 
xj^isher, James; Frazier, Jeremiah; George, Ellis; Green, James; 
Green, John; Hampton, Thos. ; Hendricks, Michael; Flitt, Elias ; 
Houser, Isaac ; Hughes, Thomas ; Hunter. John ; Hynes, Alex- 
ander R. ; Keen, John; Lewis, Adam; Lockhart, Silas; Master- 
son, Moses ; May, Solomon ; McAtee, Abednego ; McCune, 
Samuel; McDaniel, Alexander; McDougal, James; Mifford, 
Joseph ; Moon, Zachariah ; Morris, Jesse ; Morrow, James ; Moss, 
Pleasant ; Myers, Jacob ; Mutter, William ; Ritter, Michael ; 
Romans. John ; Ronyan, Francis ; Rutherford, Archibald ; Ruth- 
erford, Jesse; Rynolds, Samuel; Sandusky, Jacob; Scanlan, 
Travis; Scott, Matthew T. ; Sergeant, Wm. B.; Shannon, Jacob; 



Hutonj of Jessamine County, Kenhtchj. 125 

Shrewsberry, Nathaniel ; Simpson, Nathaniel ; Skewens, Clay- 
ton ; Spencer, Charles ; Starr, Christopher ; Starr, John ; Ateward, 
John ; Tapp, Nelson ; Taylor, Conrad ; Twindle, Alexander ; 
Triplett, Fielding; True, John; Truit. John; Ungles, Hillery ; 
Wallace, Thomas ; Waters, John ; Williams, Lewis ; Williamson, 
Richard; Wilson, James; Wilson, William. 

The subjoined names were taken from recent transcripts fur- 
nished by the War Department : 

Baum, Whitfield ; Baines, Zachariah ; Beeler, Henry ; Brown, 
Joel ; Bunds, Geo. S. ; Burchum, Jos. ; Corn, James ; Corn, Hiram ; 
Davis, James ; Damele, Spencer ; Dixon, Geo. ; Dornell, William ; 
Erwin, Stephen ; Fitzjarrell, Silas ; Fizer, Jacob ; Gardner, 
Francis; Hanes, Simeon; Jack, Andrew; Kendrick, Michael; 
Lee, Achilles, mvisician ; Lowry, Stephen; McClain, James; Mc- 
Alillen, William ; Alofford, James ; Overtums, Garland ; Parish, 
Price ; Pierson, Allen ; Paxton, Joseph ; Pilcher, Shadrach ; 
Rankins, John ; Right, Jonathan ; Singleton, Daniel ; Smith, 
John; Stewart, Gehew; Stewart, William; Walker, David T. ; 
sergeant ; Walker, Matthew ; Wallace, Robert ; Wallem, John ; 
Wilsom, Gabriel. 

River Raisin. 

General Hull, in conmiand of the Ohio troops, on the i6th of 
August, 1 812, surrendered at Detroit. His army composing the 
army of the northwest, together with Detroit, had been turned 
over to the British. This conduct aroused the keenest indigna- 
tion. No sooner had the news reached Kentucky than all the 
volunteers that the state and government desired pressed forward 
at once and offered themselves for the purpose of wiping out the 
disgrace which General Hull had inflicted upon the American 
army. 

The two troops from Jessamine county in the regiment of 
Colonel Lewis, marched from Cincinnati towards Detroit and 
finally reached Fort Winchester. Here their baggage was trans- 
ferred to canoes upon the Maumee river. The road was difficult 
and long. The troops, starting from home with their summer 
clothes, had not yet been provided witli their winter outfit, and this 
amid the fierce climate of the northwest presented most serious 




COURT HOUSE, NICHOLASVILLE. 



Hidonj of Je.<'<amine Coiuitij, Kcntiiclaj. 127 

difficulties. In a little while the provisions failed and for fourteen 
days the Kentucky troops subsisted on hickory roots, elm bark 
and the beef of a few cattle, which were killed in a half-starved 
state. In the midst of the winter a supply of warm clothing- was 
received, and this gave the troojxs new courage and animation. 

A small force of regulars had been united with the Kentucki- 
ans in this march. The Kentuckians received their winter 
clothing first, and it was quite a while before the regulars were 
supplied, and, with the chivalry and generosity which marked men 
of that period, these gallant Kentuckians demanded that the regu- 
lars should be exempted from camp duty, and all military serv- 
ice recpiired should be performed by them. 

On the 8th of January they were ordered to march to the 
rapids. Upon reaching this point the officers were informed that 
in the village called French Town, the inhabitants were terrified 
at the approach of the English and the Indians. French Town 
is on the River Raisin, a small stream emptying its waters in 
Lake Erie. (General Winchester promptly sent forward Col- 
onels Lewis and Allen, with six hundred men. They reached 
the River Raisin on the i8th of January, 1813, and met the com- 
bined English and Indian force, about 500 strong, under Majoi 
Reynolds, of the Canadian militia, and drove them from the place. 
The people of French Town were delighted with the result. A 
few days before they had feared the tomahawk of the Indian, and 
now they rejoiced at the presence of their Kentucky defenders. 
Those who had been assigned to march with Colonel Lewis's regi- 
ment were delighted that glory was placed in their grasp, while 
those who remained behind felt as if a great sorrow had come into 
their lives. 

On the 2ist of January. 1813. General Winchester moved for- 
ward and reinforced Colonels Lewis and Allen. This reinforce- 
ment consisted of 300 regulars, conmianded by Colonel Wells. 
Colonel Lewis, who was an experienced officer in Indian serv- 
ice, had ]DOsted his troops in an enclosed garden, with an open 
field on his right. Colonel W'ells outranked Lewis as an officer 
of the regular army, as Lewis was only a volunteer, and he de- 
manded the position on his right. This placed Colonel Wells in 
the open field, while Lewis and Allen still remained in the en- 
closed garden, with a picket fence as their protection. Colonel 



128 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 

Lewis strongly insisted that Colonel Wells should be placed in 
the same garden on his left, but General Winchester, yielding to 
the exactions of the regular army officer, ordered that Colonel 
Wells be placed in the open field on the right. 

General Proctor, who was in command of the British at Mai- 
den, pushed forward with all his force. He prepared for an as- 
sault on the dawn of the 22c\. It was hardly light, when, with 
his artillery covering his right, and both his flanks protected by 
Indian marksmen, he advanced upon the Americans. But no 
sooner had he reached within musket shot of the Kentuckians, 
than he was met by such g"alling and incessant a fire that part of 
his army fell in confusion. Discovering the exposed position of 
the army under Wells, the British general rushed forward all his 
force against him. A'olley after volley of musketry broke the 
stillness of the morning air, and the whoop of the Indians and the 
cheers of the Kentuckians sounded on every side. But the 300 
regulars could not withstand the assault of the entire Britisdi force. 
After the battle had lasted twenty minutes. General Winchester 
saw ll'iat he i;iust relieve Wells and place him within the en- 
closure occupied by General Lewis. The moment an order was 
given for thit' purpose the British and Indians redoubled their 
forces and pressed the Americans so hard that the line fell in dis- 
order. A panic seized the regulars and they rushed towards the 
river to cross the rapids, where the remainder of the Kentucky 
army was in camp. The British and Indians pursued them, toma- 
hawking and scalping all who came in their way. 

General Winchester, although incompetent, was brave. He 
endeavored to reform his men. Colonels Lewis and Allen each 
took a company of fifty men, rushed out of their enclosures, 
and did their best to check the defeat and rout. Nothing would 
avail ; nothing could prevent the disaster. Colonel Allen was 
killed and General Winchester and Colonel Lewis taken prison- 
ers. The two Kentucky companies that had come with the regu- 
lars were swept away. It was here that the Jessamine troops in- 
terposed with superb courage and bravery. Captain Price was 
killed, together with a large number of his company. Some fell 
by rifle balls, some were scalped, others were left to perish in the 
cold. 

In tlie fight thus far Proctor had lost one-fourth of his force. 



Hidonj of Jexmnihte County, Kentiicki/. 129 

but he was delighted to know that General Winchester was 
among the prisoners. Sending- for General Winchester he re- 
counted the savageness of the Indians, and the difficulty which 
he would have in restraining them if the battle was continued. 
He said that he could set fire to every house in the village and this 
he would probably have to do and that as a result the innocent 
M'onien and children would be massacred by the Indians. He 
then asked General Winchester to direct his men to surrender. 
General Winchester consented to advise surrender, but when 
the message was carried to the Kentuckians and handed to Major 
jMadison, who w^as the ranking officer after the capture of Co'lonel 
Lewis, informing him that he and the Kentuckians with him 
had been surrendered by General Winchester, Major Madison 
refused to recognize General Winchester's authority to command 
his surrender while a prisoner, and declared his determination to 
die with the Kentuckians unless favorable terms of surrender 
were given. 

At last General Proctor entered into an agreement that all 
private property should be respected, that sleds should be sent the 
next morning to remove the sick and wounded to Amherstburg, 
that the prisoners should be guarded from the. savages and that 
the side arms of the officers should be restored to them next 
morning. Major Madison finally did reluctantly surrender. He 
w^as induced to do this by the failure of ammunition. 

That night the prisoners, 600 in number, were carried to Am- 
herstl)urg. They were put in a wood-yard, exposed to a pelting 
rain, without sheds or blankets or fire. Instead of the sleds, 
wliich were to come for the wounded, came 200 savages, who 
rushed in the houses where the wounded lay and killed them, 
scalped them and set the houses on fire. In the smouldering- 
ashes the bones of 64 men were consumed. 

The bodies of the Americans were denied sepulture and were 
left a prey to the animals of the village. Afterwards thev were 
placed in the ground and the following summer, when the Ameri- 
can amiy passed the same way, their bones were again exposed. 
They were buried once more, but there went up from the heart 
of every Kentuckian the stirring cry of "Remember the Raisin." 

The night before this awful battle Captain Price had written 
to his father-in-law. He had a premonition of his death. 
9 



Hi.ftory of Jexsaniiiie CoimU/, Kcniiichij. 131 

Capt. James C. Price was the fatlier of tlie late Kleber F. 
Price, of Jessamine county, who died at his residence, above Nich- 
olasville, in 1864. The accompanying letter of Captain Price was- 
addressed to his wife, and was, doubtless, the last letter he ever 
wrote to his family. He was killed in the battle of Raisin, January 
22, 181 3. He was a gallant and chivalrous soldier and a man oi 
noble and generous impulses. His body was never recognized 
and his remains, with those of his compatriots, who died in that 
dreadful conflict, rest in unmarked graves, in the soil of the state 
they died to redeem and defend. He connmanded the Jessamine 
P.lues, wbich was one of the most noted military companies in 
its day. The uniform was blue, with light facings, and was con- 
sidered, in those days, a marvel of beauty. 

"In Camp, near Raisin River, 
"Jan. 16, 1813. 

"Dear Susan : I have only time to inform you that we ex- 
"pect to have a battle tomorrow with the British and Indians. 
"On the eve of battle I have believed it proper to address you 
"tliese lines. As you are aware that the object nearest to my 
"heart is your welfare and that of my children, and so far as I 
"have been able I have provided everything in mv power for 
"your comfort and that of my children. I feel in no unhappy 
"mood about my girl children; I know they are in. 3'our coni- 
"pany at all hours of the day. You know where they visit and 
"who are their associates. My only son, I feel a great interest 
"in his future life and welfare. Early impressions are lasting 
"and often, perhaps always, tend to give a permanent cast to the 
"leading principles of the heart, and to the general character of 
"the mind. Teach my boy to love truth, to speak truth at all 
"times. He must not be allowed to associate with children or 
"other persons who indulge in swearing or misrepresentations. 
"He must be taught to bear in mind that 'an honest man is the 
"noblest work of God ;' he must be rigidly honest in his dealings. 
"He must be taught to attend church every Sabbath. Never 
"allow him to run about on Sabbath days, fishing. Teach my son 
"the habits of industry. Industry and virtue are twin brothers, 
"but indolence and vice are closely connected. Indolence leads to 
"every vice and every other evil. Industry leads to virtue and 



132 Hidonj of Jei<smnine County, Kenkicl-y. 

"every other good. Not a day must be lost in teaching him how 

"to work, and the great principles of our holy religion must be 

"on all occasions impressed on his mind. It may be possible I 

"may fall in battle and my only boy must know that his father, 

"next to God, loves his country, and is now risking his life in de- 

"fending that country against a barbarous and cruel enemy. Be 

"sure and teach my son, with Pope, to say and feel that — 

"Vice is a monster of such frightful mien 

"As to be hated needs but to be seen. 

"Yet seen, too oft, familiar with her face, 

"We first endure, then pity, then embrace. 

"Teach him these lines of the great poet; they will do him 
"good when he grows older. Pray for me that you may be with 
"me once more. 

"Your affectionate husband, 

"James C. Price. 

*'Susanah Price, 

"Near Nicholasville, Ky. 
"Post Script. — The snow is two feet deep, the crust is very 
"hard and we walk over it and ride upon it on horseback. We 
"often sleep under such deep snow, we cover up in our blankets 
"and we sleep warm during the night. Eb. has been sick, but is 
"now on duty. '*J. C. P.'' 

In Camp, Near Newport, Ky. 
February 20, 181 3. 
Mrs. Mary Price : 

You will, long before this reaches you, have received the pain- 
ful intelligence of the death of your brave and gallant son. Capt. 
James C. Price, who was killed and scalped by the Indians on 
the morning of January 22d. He had been engaged in a 
severe skirmish early on the morning of the 17th. At ten o'clock 
he was ordered by General Winchester to bring in all the wounded 
men and carry tliem in all the sleds beyond the reach of the In- 
dians. In the discharge of this duty Captain Price and myself, at 
tlie head of fifty men of our company, were attacked by a large 
bodv of Indians, who had concealed themselves in the timber, on 
the river bank. The Indians had succeeded in breaking the crust 



Hixtory of Jexmmine County, Kentucky. 133 

of the deep snow a mile above our camp, on the river, which was 
the only road through which we could reach the command of 
General Winchester, who had retreated about three miles, and 
was awaiting the arrival of General Harrison. As soon as the 
Indians opened a heavy fire on us we returned their fire and con- 
tinued a rapid retreat to the main army, under General Winches- 
ter, over the only road on which the Indians, under their chief, Te- 
cumseh, had early on the morning of the i8th succeeded in break- 
ing the thick crust of the snow, which was two feet deep. In 
this trap we were caught. In getting away from the river many 
of our men were killed, and scalped before we got out of the 
deep snow. Captain Price was shot in the right shoulder by a 
musket ball, which disabled his right arm ; he was attacked by 
three Indians; he ran his sword through the heart of one of them, 
but was soon overpowered, killed and scalped. Eight of our 
company, besides Captain Price, were brutally massacred; more 
than thirty got away and reached the command of General Win- 
chester in safety. I had five bullet holes in my hat and clothing. 
The force of General Winchester was 350 and we were attacked 
again early on the morning of January 22d by a large force of- 
British and Indians. We were completely routed and all of our 
army taken prisoners. General Proctor, the British commander, 
sufifered the savages to kill and scalp more than twenty of our sol- 
diers after we had surrendered. About twelve o'clock we were 
marched ofif. Dr. Todd and Dr. Augustine Bower of our regi- 
ment were left with the sick and wounded. x\bout sunrise the 
next day, instead of sleds coming to convey the sick and wounded 
to Maiden, a large body of Indians m.ade their appearance, paint- 
ed black and red. They began to plunder, and the sick and wound- 
ed were scalped. (Jne Indian had. the scalp of Captain Price.. I, be- 
ing next in command of the company from Jessamine, tlie sav- 
age showed the scalp to me, but I knew he was lying for Captain 
Price was very baldheaded on the top of his head. The few who 
were able to be sent to Maiden were saved, but all who gave out 
were killed on the way and were left lying on the road in the 
deep snow. General Proctor, after he had promised us protec- 
tion before our surrender, never named, nor did he pay any atten- 
tion to our sick and helpless soldiers. General Winchester and 
Major Madison repeatedly told him of it, but he paid no atten- 




NICHOLASVILLE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 



Hlstonj of Je,^6amlne County, Keidackii 135 

tion to them whatever. Capt. ElHott, a cowardly British officer, 
said to Major Madison and Winchester, in my hearing, that "the 
Indians were very excellent surgeons and ought to kill all the 
officers and men." I have, as you well know, passed through a 
terrible winter in suffering for our country. We have all been 
exchanged, and will be at our homes the tenth of March. I re- 
joice that we have done our duty to God and our country. Ebe- 
nezer is now lieutenant in my place. Look for us on the tenth. 
Your friend and neighbor. 

William Caldwell, 
Acting Captain of the Blues. 



Conduct of the Kentuckians at Raisin. 

The conduct of the Kentucky troops under their own officers 
evinced the highest order of courage and gallantry. They were 
worthy of the state whence they came and worthy of all the ex- 
pectations of those who had sent them to this war. 

General Winchester, in speaking of the Kentucky troops, said : 

"On them too nnich praise can not be bestowed. Assailed 
bv numbers greatly superior, supported by six pieces of artillery 
constantly employed, t-iey gallantly defended themselves with 
small arms alone for over four hours of constant battle. No 
troops ever behaved with more cool and determined bravery, from 
the commanding officer down to the common soldier. There was 
scarcelv a single abandonment of duty. At last, when their 
anmumition was nearly exhausted and they were surrounded by 
the enemy, greatly superior in numbers and the means of war, 
they surrendered with a reluctance rarely to be found on similar 
occasions." 

Had the regulars under Colonel Wells sustained themselves as 
did the volunteers under Lewis and Allen, the awful tragedy ot 
the Raisin would have been avoided, and instead of defeat and 
massacre and broken faith, there would have been a glorious 
victory. The Kentuckians beat off Proctor and his Indians. 
"At ten o'clock in the morning," says Butler, in his history, 
"Proctor, finding it useless to sacrifice his men in a vain attempt 
to dislodge this little band of heroes, withdrew his forces to the 
heights, intending to abandon the contest or to await the return 



136 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 

of the Indians who had pursued the retreating party. The loss 
sustained by our men was inconsiderable and when Proctor with- 
drew they employed the leisure it afforded them to take breakfast 
at their posts." 

Their surrender was only obtained by Proctor taking ad- 
vantage of General Winchester's capture and b}' basely misrepre- 
senting a message which he had sent to these Kentucky troops- 
within the enclosure. 



Civil War. 

At the commencement of the Civil War, the people of Jessa- 
mine county were divided in sentiment, and many of its citizens 
took up arms both in the Federal and Confederate armies. 

Company K, of the 20th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry, com- 
manded by Col. Sanders Bruce, was almost altogether composed 
of Jessamine county men, and they were in the service three 
years. 

Andrew McCampbell, captain, resigned June. 1862; Charles 
R. West was elected captain May 24, 1863, served three years; 
George W. Baker, first lieutenant, resigned in 1862; Ben Thorn- 
burg, Joseph Lewis, afterward William L. Steele; Samuel ]\I. 
Anderson was made first lieutenant September 29, 1862 ; Allen A. 
Burton and S. T. Corn, now of Corlinville, 111., were first and 
second lieutenants ; William Plumblee, first sergeant ; Levi Rey- 
nolds, second sergeant ; Oliver Davis, first corporal ; Jonathan 
White, second corporal. 

Names of Men of the Company: 
Albertson, Adam ; Bailey. E. Hayden ; Bailey, Robt. ; Baker. 
Benedict ; Barnes, David ; Barnes, Geo. W. ; Brennan, John 
Bright, Benj.; Brown, S. S. ; Brumfield, James; Bruner, Tilford 
Bruner, M.; Burch, James; Burgess, M'm.; Coleman, Francis 
Courtney, Jno. F. ; Crow, Zebedee ; Dean, Wm. ; Dobson, Elias 
Dobson, Pleasant ; Easley, Jno. T. ; English, W. T. ; Fain. Jno. K. 
Foster. Frank ; Foster. James ; Gifford, Jabez ; Gilride, Thos. 
Green, Corydon B.; Henderson, S. M.; House, Benj.; Hocker- 
smith, Edward ; Howard, James W. ; Hunter, Jos. W. . Hersey, 
Jno. ; Land. James ; Land. Robt. ; Letcher. Alex. ; McKane, 



Hidory of Je.<sa)nine Coiniti/, Kentitckij. 13^ 

James; McMurty, Robt. L. ; Masters, F'rank ; Masters, Henry 
W.; Murphy, Chas.; Phillips, Dr. H. H.; Plumbly, Wiley; 
Preston, Alfred; Preston, Samuel; Ramsey, Samuel; Ramsey, 
Jno. F. ; Reynolds, Henry; Reynolds, James; Reynolds, W. H.; 
Rhorer, Hardin; Riley, Henry; Sharp, Thos. ; Short, James M.; 
Thornbro, Robt. ; Tredway, David ; Tredway, Wm. ; Turpin, 
Jno.; Walters, Bluford; Walters, Geo.; Woods, Jess. 

The following' is a list of the colored soldiers who served in 
the United States Army in Company L, Fifth Cavalry, Capt. J. 
S. Caldwell, Bowen's Regiment, J. S. Brisbin's Brigade: 

Allen, Dudley ; .Anderson, Jefiferson ; Ballard, Wilson ; Bal- 
ard, Geo.; Berry, Chas.; Bowen, James; Baggs, Geo.; Burley, 
Frank; Berry, Edmund; Bell, A. Travis; Brown, Richard; 
Brown, David; Brown. Sidney; Brown, Sandy; Bowles, Jack; 
Blackburn, Chas.; Bush, Jos.; Black, Jacob; Brown, Perry; 
Bryant, Green; Burnside, Jno.; Campbell, Alexander; Carter, 
Jos. ; Carson, Wm. ; Clay, Ambrose ; Clay, Henson ; Coleman,. 
Samuel; Davis, David; Denny, Ben; Douglas, Ned.; Favors, 
Jos.; Fry, Louis; French. John; Gable, Green; Grodon, Marion; 
Dr. Garnett ; Gatewood, Thos.; George, Lewis; Garvin, Henry; 
Gess, Frank; Bfamilton, Flenry; Hamilton, Perry; Hamilton, 
Sanford; Hanson. Robt.; Howard, Adam, (died 1882, 99 years 
old); Hood. Daniel; Hunt, Jack; Jackson, Alex.; King, Hiram; 
King, Milo ; Kyle. Orange ; McConnell. Geo. ; McDowell, 
Bacchus; Mason. Robt.; Massie, Jos.: Martin, Edward; Moran, 
Anderson ; Oldham. Thos. ; Overstreet, Burd ; Owsley, Branch ; 
Peniston. James ; Priest, Stephen ; Ridgeley. Dick ; Scott. Alfred ; 
Scott, Charles: Scott. King; Smith. Jos.; Smith. Wm. ; Spillman. 
Alex.; vStout, Isaac; Stuart, John; Thomas. James; Thompson. 
Frank; Walker. Edmund; Walker. WHiitfield. 

Confederate Monument. 

The handsomest public monument in Jessamine county is 
that erected by the Jessamine Confederate Memorial Associa- 
tion, to the Confederates buried in Maple Grove cemetery, Nich- 
olasville. This monument reflects great credit on the Confed- 
erate soldiers and friends who built it. The work was started 




CONFEDERATE MONUMENT. 




DR. CHAS. MANN. 



Hixtori/ of Jesxam'nie Coiiuiij, Kt'iitKcki/, 139 

in iS8o; the monument was dedicated on the 15th of June, 1896, 
and stands in the court-house yard. The platform was erected 
in the court-house yard as the place for the dedicatory ceremo- 
nies. Special trains ^\■ere run on all the roads entering the city, and 
the delegation from Louisville, headed by Col. Bennett H. Young, 
brought the largest number of persons. The city of Nicholas- 
ville royally entertained all those who came to unite in the cere- 
monies. At one o'clock they began. Dr. Charles Alann, presi- 
dent of the association, presided. Capt. John H. Leathers and 
Col. Bennett H. Young, of Louisville, were the orators of the day. 
The monuiuent was unvailed by Miss J(jsephine Mann and Master 
Lawson Oxley. of Cynthiana, son of JefTerson Oxley, the first 
president of the association. The exercises were opened with 
prayer by Rev. F. W. Noland, a member of the Eighth Kentucky 
Confederate Cavalry, and the Confederate Glee Club of Louis- 
ville, sang a beautiful and appropriate selection ; the closing song, 
"Tread Lightly. Ye Comrades," produced a profound impres- 
sion upon the audience. The history of the work of the asso- 
ciation, in connection with the monument, was read by Prof. A. 
X. Gordon, its secretary and treasurer. 

In 1862. Dr. Charles Mann, then a surgeon in the Confed- 
erate Army, was ordered by Gen. Kirby Smith, to gather and care 
for the sick and wounded who had been left about Camp Dick 
Robinson. About eighty of these, he brought in private convey- 
ances to Nicholasville, where they were nursed and cared for by 
the ladies of the community ; those who died there were buried in 
the Nicholasville cemetery. After the war, Dr. Mann, with the 
aid of James S. McKenzie and Charles Oldham, gathered other 
Confederate dead, including those who had been buried in the 
Federal cemetery at Camp Nelson, and brought them to the 
cemetery at Nicholasville. where a lot had been generously do- 
nated by the Cemetery Company for that purpose 

The original headboards, having rotted down, were replaced 
by Col. Bennett H. Young, and these, in turn, by beautiful granite 
tablets, which now mark them 

Jefferson O.xley. long a leading merchant in Nicholasville. 
and as true, brave and chivalrous a soldier as ever wore the gray, 
did as much as. if not more than, any one man to secure the funds 
necessarv to construct the monument. He died when success 



140 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 

was in sight, but before he saw the work accompHshed. His 
ccnirades, and those whose dead the monument commemorates, 
will long keep green his memory. 

Dr. Chas. Mann, the president, was the surgeon of the Fifth 
Kentucky Confederate Infantry, and rendered distinguished serv- 
ices in the Army of Tennessee. He was frequently detailed to 
important positions, and returned from the war with highest com- 
mendations of his skill and efficiency as a surgeon and man, since 
which time he has practiced his profession in Jessamine county. 

Prof. A. N. Gordon, a moving spirit in the erection of the 
monument, was a brave and gallant soldier in the Confederacy, 
for many years the brilliant leader of educational work in the 
county, as principal of Bethel Academy, and now principal of 
Allegan Academy for Boys, near Lexington. 

The following is a list of the Confederate dead buried in the 
cemetery, in whose honor the monument was erected : 

John Martin, 30th Alabama ; A. L. Hale, 39th North Carolina ; 
Henry Rice, 42d Georgia; W. H. Wallace, 6th Florida; J. E. D. 
Morris, 6th Florida ; W. J. Hale, 40th Georgia ; W. B. Carter, 9th 
Georgia; Peter Guin, C. S. A.; W. L. Cooley, 2d Kentucky; B. 
F. Kernan, 6th Kentucky; Eugene Dickson, 42d Georgia; Capt. 
Samuel Scott, Louisiana; C. R. Richardson, C. S. A.; W. H. 
Yarbrough, ist Alabama; J. W. Washam, 17th Mississippi; W. 
E. Copeland, 3rd Alabama; John A. Bass, C. S. A.; S. M. Wil- 
son, 53d Georgia; D. Campbell, 63d Virginia; J. R. Cox, 59th 
Georgia; J. Brock, i8th Georgia; W. M. Boge, i6th Georgia; O. 
W. White, 41st Alabama ; L. Johnson, 6th Georgia ; J. A. Bowles, 
59th Georgia; J. B. Hale, 2d Georgia; E. Willoughby, ist 
Georgia; Geo. W. Trabue, C. S. A.; H. Owenby, 39th North 
Carolina. 

The peroration of Colonel Young's dedicatory address, was 
as follows : 

"Nor can I close this address without some reference to the 
v\'omen of Jessamine county, who, with such patience, such in- 
dustry, such zeal and such unselfishness, have labored so long 
to erect this monument to our beloved dead. Many who helpea 
at the inception of the undertaking have been denied the happi 
ness of seeing its fulfillment, but we feel the sweet presence of 
their spirits, though they passed over the river before success had 



Hidorij of Je>immuie County, Kentachi. 141 

crowned the labors of the association. If they are not here, we 
shall, at least, in love and gratitude, remember them and their 
work for this cause, and their absence alone mars the complete- 
ness of this occasion. The noblest and highest of the war's de- 
mands was to be worthy of the faith and trust of the Southern 
women, and it mitigated the anguish and bitterness of defeat to be 
able through manly tears to look down into the tear-dimmed 
eyes of the women of the South and tell them that in the suffer- 
ings, sacrifices and privations of all that weary struggle, there had 
been nothing done or left undone which rendered the men of the 
Confederacy unworthy of what was rec|uired by its women, and 
now% after the lapse of long years, we find the same gentle, loving, 
beautiful, brave, and unselfish women,, with all the enthusiasm of 
their nobler nature, rearing these memorials to those of our com- 
rades who went down amid the storms of war, and thus keeping 
the record of those heroes who gave their blood as a seal of their 
loyalty to the land of their love and of their troth. We vitter 
benediction for such women. May the angels of blessing and 
peace hover over and around them in this life and at its end bring 
them peacefully to that place where there will be no wars, where 
monuments are not required, where death and sorrow never 
come. With reverent homage we stand by these graves of our 
heroes. They are hallowed in our hearts and souls, and w'e will 
honor and adore them forever. These are the men who fought 
with the Johnstons, Lee, Jackson, Breckinridge, Morgan and 
Polk, and Bragg and Hardee and Hood, and Forrest and Hill, and 
Cheatham and Cleburne, and hosts of immortal heroes. These 
are the partakers of the sublime glory of the Confederate armies, 
and we come in tenderness and devotion and affection to mark, 
beautify and bless the soil that garners their dust, and to declare 
by this monument, which we trust will remain forever, that the 
memories of the virtues, of the courage, of the chivalr}^ and of the 
bravery, of the sacrifices, of the sufferings, of the renown of our 
departed comrades shall be as deathless, as their deeds were illus- 
trious. 

'"By fairy hands their knell is rung 

By forms unseen their dirge is sung. 
Here honor comes — a pilgrim gray — 
To bless the turf that wraps their clay. 
And Freedom doth a while repair, 
To dwell, a weeping hermit, there." 



142 Hidory of Jc^mmlnc ('(iiinfj/, Keiitiickij. 

Capt. James White, a son of Elder William \Miite, in 1862, 
when General Brag-g invaded Kentucky, recruited a company of 
infantry, which was in the Fifth Kentucky Regiment Confederate 
Infantry, commanded by Col. Hiram Hawkins. Part of the men 
in this company were recruited from Grant county and were in 
all the great battles of the Atlanta campaign, and surrendered at 
Greensborough, X. C, in 1865. The following is a list of the 
meml^ers from Jessamine county, in Captain W'hite's company, 
and in Company B, Capt. Wm. Lewis, Eighth Kentucky Cavalry, 
commanded by Col. Roy S. Cluke : 

Adams, Thos.; Arnspiger, Geo.; Blackford, Benj.; Bowman, 
Sanford; Bowman, Robt.; Bowen, Harrison.; Brower, Edw. A.; 
Brown, Samuel M.; Burch, Courtney L. ; Campbell, Fernando 
Wood; Campbell, Peter; Campbell, Richard; Campbell, Stephen; 
Chrisman, Benj. ; Cleveland, John ; Cogar, John ; Cook, John W. ; 
Cook, T. B.; Cooley. W. L. ; Corman, Geo.; Corman, Grattan ; 
Daniel, W'. H. ; Davis, James ; Davis, John P. ; Davis, ^^"illiam ; 
Deboe, Wesley; Drake, John; Elgin, Jno. S. ; Elmore, Fletcher; 
Foster, Dr. T. W. ; Funk, Henry, killed at Chickamauga ; Gooch, 
James ; Gordon, Prof. A. N. ; Gregg, S. S. ; Gwuyn, Edw\ ; Hanly, 
Samuel ; Harris, J. W. ; Hawkins, Jno. T. ; Hayden, W. A. ; Hol- 
loway. Dr. Jno. ; Hollway, Wm. ; Jones, Jonathan, at that time 62, 
died in '91 ; Jones. A. D. ; Jones. James B. ; Jones, O. A. ; Knight. 
Campbell ; Lampkins. Jno. B. ; Lear, John T. ; Lear, Jos. R. ; Lear, 
Wm. ; Lee, Melvin ; Livingston, James; Lindsey, Jos.; Lowry, 
David; Lowry, Samuel; McAfee, Maj. Allin L. ; McAfee, Capt. 
Jno. J. ; McBrayer. Frank ; McDavitt, Chas. ; McKinzie, Edw. O. ; 
McKenzie, James; McKenzie, Jno. FL ; Mann, Dr. Chas.; Met- 
calf, Geo. W. ; Musselman, Henry; Myers. W. E. ; Nave. Samuel ; 
Nave, Tilford; Noe, James; Nolan, Rev. Wm. ; Patten, ^^'m. ; 
Phelps. Edw.; Price. Louis S. ; Reynolds, Geo.; Robinson, Jacob 
Creath ; Roberts, Rankin ; Roberts, Jas. A. ; Rowland, G. T.; Rue, 
Allen ; Rue, Frank ; Sandusky, Jacob ; Sandusky, L. E. ; Scott, 
Robt.. killed at Strawberry Plains ; Scott. Samuel ; Sparks, 
Moreau ; Stine, Jno. G. ; Soper. David ; Si-)ears. Christopher, died 
from wounds in Camp Douglas ; Steele, Atlas ; Vantries, Emanuel, 
killed at Chickamauga; Walls, Newbold C; Walls, Benj. J.; 
Warner, Wm.; Welch, James M.; W^oods, Thos. J.; Young,, 
Bennett H. 



Hlstoyij of Jcsxaiiiliir ('oinifi/, KcntHchij. 143 

Scenery, 

Jessamine county has some remarkable natural scenery. The 
Hudson and the Rhine have nothing- so beautiful, majestic or 
grand as tlie clift's along the Kentuck}- and Dix rivers. If they 
had been open so as to have been accessible, they would have 
made Jessamine county famous ; but for many years they could 
not be reached by railroad and only a part of them were within 
the limits of navigation on the Kentucky river, and the small 
boats and the slow time rendered the journey unattractive to the 
traveling public. With swift boats operated upon the river now 
that it is locked and dammed to the extreme limits of Jessamine 
count}', a great tide of visitors will flow in to see these wonderful 
natural curiosities. The first complete American geography, 
written by Jedediah Morse and published in 1789 at Elizabeth- 
town, Xew Jersey, gave a description of the scenery. It savs : 

"The banks or rather the precipices of the Kentucky and Dix 
rivers are to be reckoned among the natural curiosities of this 
county. Here the astonished eye beholds three or four hundred 
feet of solid perpendicular rocks, in some parts of the limestone 
kind and in others of fine white marble curiously checked with 
strata of astonishing regularity. These rivers have the appear- 
ance of deep, artificial canals. Their high, rocky banks are cov- 
ered with red cedar groves. The accounts of the fertility of the 
soil have in some instances exceeded belief and probably been ex- 
aggerated. The high grounds of Kentucky are remarkably good. 
The lands of the first rate are too rich for wheat, but will produce 
fifty to sixty, and in some instances one hundred, bushels and even 
more of good corn an acre. In common the land will produce 
thirty bushels of wheat or rye to the acre. Barley, oats, cotton, 
hemp, flax, and vegetables of all kinds common in this climate 
yield abundantly. The old \'irginia planters say, if the climate 
does not prove too moist, few soils known will yield more or bet- 
ter tobacco." 

Dr. Christopher Graham prepared for Collins' History a 
description of some of these curiosities in Jessamine county, and 
described them in a most effective and attractive way. He says : 

"After much vexation and annoyance, occasioned by the dif- 
ficulties of the road, we arrived near the object of our visit, and 




METHODIST CHURCH, SOUTH. 



Hidorij of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 145 

quitting- our horses, proceeded on foot. Upon approaching the 
break of the precipice, under the direction of our guide, we sud- 
denly found ourselves standing on the verge of a yawning chasm, 
and immediately beyond, bottomed in darkness, the Devil's 
Pulpit was seen rearing its black, gigantic form, from amid the 
obscurity of the deep and silent valley- The background to this 
gloomy object presented a scene of unrelieved desolation. Clifif 
rose on cliff and crag surmounted crag, sweeping off on either 
hand in huge semicircles, imtil the wearied eye became unable to 
follow the countless and billowy-like mazes of that strange and 
awful scene. The prevailing character of the wliole was that of 
savage grandeur and gloom. A profound silence broods over the 
place, broken only by the muffled rushing of the stream far down 
in its narrow passage, cleaving its way to its home in the ocean. 
Descending by a zigzag path to the shore of the river, while our 
companions were making preparations to cross, I strayed through 
the valley. The air was cool, refreshing and fragrant, and vocal 
with the voices of many birds. The bending trees, the winding 
stream with its clear and crystal waters, the flowering shrubs, and 
clustering vines walled in by these adamantine ramparts — which 
seem to tower to the skies — make this a place of rare and pictu- 
resque beauty. The dew drops still hitng glittering on the leaves, 
the whispering winds played with soft music throitgh the rust- 
ling foliage, and the stmbeams struggling through the overhang- 
ing forest kissed the opening flowers, and all combined made up 
a scene of rural loveliness and romance, which excited emotions 
of unmingled delight. The boat having arrived, the river was 
crossed without difBculty, and we commenced the ascent, and after 
measuring up two hundred and seventy feet, arrived at the base 
of the 'Pulpit.' Fifty paces from this point, and parallel with it. 
in the solid ledge of the cliff, is a cave of considerable extent. At 
its termination there passes out like the neck of a funnel, an 
opening, not larger than a hogshead. Upon pitching rocks into 
this cave, a rumbling was heard at an immense distance below the 
earth. Some are of the opinion that this cave contains a bottom- 
less pit. We now ascended the cliffs some fifty feet further, 
clambering up through a fissure in the rocks, having the Pulpit 
on our right, and a range of cliffs on our left. To look up here 
makes the head dizzy. Huge and dark masses roll up above you, 
10 



146 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 

upon whose giddy heights vast crags jut out and overhang the 
valley, threatening destruction to all below. The floating clouds 
give these crags the appearance of swimming in mid air. The 
ascent of these rocks, though somewhat laborious, is perfectly 
safe, being protected by natural walls on either side, and form- 
ing a perfect stairway, with steps from eigiht to ten feet thick. At 
the head of this passage, there is a hole through the river side of 
the wall, large enough to admit the body, and through which one 
may crawl, and look down upon the rushing stream below\ At 
the foot of the stairway stands the Pulpit, rising from the very 
brink of the main ledge, at more than two hundred feet of an 
elevation above the river, but separated from the portion which 
towers up to the extreme heights. The space is twelve feet at 
bottom, and as the clifif retreats slightly at this point, the gap is 
perhaps thirty feet at the top. The best idea that can be formed 
of this rock is to suppose it to be a single column, standing in front 
of the continuous wall of some vast building, or ruin, the shaft 
standing as colonnades are frequently built upon an elevated 
platform. From the platform to the capital of the shaft is not 
less than one hundred feet, making the whole elevation of the 
'Devil's Pulpit' three hundred feet. It is called by some the 
inverted candlestick, to which it has a striking resemblance. 
There are two swells, which form the base moulding and occupy 
about forty feet of the shaft. It then narrows to an oblong of 
about three feet by six, at which point there are fifteen distinct 
projections. This narrow neck continues with some irregularity 
for eight or ten feet, winding of¥ at an angle of more than one 
degree from the line of gravity. Then commences the increased 
swell, and craggy oltsets, first overhanging one side, and then the 
other, till they reach the top or cap rock, which is not so wide as 
the one below it, but is still fifteen feet across." 

Miss Jessamine Woodson, a descendant of distinguished Jessa- 
mine ancestors, and who was named for the county, prepared for 
the Acme Club a history of the county, and some of her descrip- 
tions are so vivid and so exquisitely penned that they deserve pres- 
ervation, in more permanent form than newspaper columns ; and 
the author can not refrain from inserting two paragraphs : 

Beautiful and highly favored for situation, and beautiful and 



History of Jexmmliie Count ij, Kextuckt/. 147 

symmetrical in form, bounded on three sides by the Kentucky 
river, making a horseshoe, which is for luck as well as beauty, we 
behold beautiful and highly improved farms, well watered and 
drained by three pretty creeks and intersected by 130 miles of 
smooth, well-kept turnpikes made of the blue limestone, which 
can not be found of the same hard quality anywhere else in the 
world, and these roads, with the thoroughbred horses, the product 
of the bluegrass and limestone water, is the most attractive feat- 
ure of this region. Jessamine is better supplied with these roads 
than her neigh1)ors. We also see her important railways cross- 
ing each other in the center of the county and diverging to the 
four points of the com])ass, fifteen or more churches and schools, 
sixteen postoffices and country stores, seven railway stations, 
three or four villages, besides the county seat, and many a neat, 
comfortable farm house, and a number of large and elegant coun- 
try seats, some of tiiem dating back to ante-bellum days. We see 
waving fields of grain, hemp and tobacco and woodland pastures, 
carpeted with green, velvety grass, and trees that are tall and 
straight and of great variety and of wondrous beauty, and under 
these and in the meadows are groups of fat sheep. Jerseys and 
Shorthorns, thoroughbred horses, Berkshire pigs and Southdown 
sheep. Thrifty fruit orchards we see, too, and green hedges of 
osage orange, and stone fences and barn-yards with all sorts of 
pretty domestic fowls. 

Our bluegrass pasture lands are our special pride. Cirass as 
soft as velvet, and with blades often a yard long, and as fine as a 
siken cord, without a weed, growing close to the very trunks of 
the tall, wide-spreading elms, walnut, oak and maple trees. Here 
is the home of the dryads and wood nymphs, and here the poet 
must have been inspired to write, "The Groves were God's First 
Temples," and these actually were to the noble army of pioneers 
who first set up "The Banner of the Cross" while building their 
log cabins with rifles in their hands. The country is gently un- 
dulating, with hill and dale, meadow and wood, giving variety 
and sparing the eye from monotony until you approach the river, 
when it becomes more rugged, but always grander and more 
wonderful in beauty and sublimit}'. It is well and beautiful- 
ly watered, everywhere unfailing springs of clear, cool water, 
gushing out from rocky ledges or bubbling out of a mysterious 



148 History of Jeammine Gonniij, Kentiichj. 

cave, overtopped with waving elm, beach or sugar maple trees. 
A most welcome sight these were to the pioneers who knew noth- 
ing of cisterns and microbes, and they invariably decided the 
site of the homestead. Near many of these are still to be seen 
the old, moss-covered spring-house, so suggestive of cool, rich 
cream and firm, golden butter, and of primitive arcadian life. 
Such a spring is Jessamine, the source of the creek of the same 
name, and of Hickman and Sinking creek, which Mr. Collins tells 
us is a remarkable natural curiosity. It rises near the Fayette 
line, about a mile north of Providence church, runs west through 
the beautiful I.afon, Blackford and Sandusky farms, and unites 
with a smaller. Sinking creek, from the north in Woodford, form- 
ing Clear creek. It sinks four times, running under ground from 
one quarter to a mile each time. At times in the winter and 
spring, when the water can not sink as fast as it falls, it is fifty 
feet deep and a mile wide. There are many wonders and curiosi- 
ties under crround besides these streams. 



Jessamine Creek. 

Jessamine creek rises in the northern part of Jessamine county 
and flows in a southern direction emptying into the Kentucky 
river a few^ miles above High Bridge. It rises about two and a 
half miles above Keene, on the farm now belonging to Mr. Pleas- 
ant Cook, which was early settled by the Singletons and Chown- 
ings. There are two large springs f:om which the \\'ater comes 
up, but both of these have been very much changed in later years. 

One of the recent owners of the land on which is the creek 
head, finding the sources of the stream practically bottomless, and 
tliat his stock would sometimes fall in between the ledges, which 
created a sort of chasm from which the water rose, hauled four 
or five hundred loads of loose stones and threw them into this 
opening, thus endeavoring to make it safe, so that stock might 
walk over it. The result has been that when heavy rains fall, the 
water boils up on both sides within twenty or thirty feet of the 
spring itself. It has never been known to go dry. It comes out of 
the side of the hill, the rocks of which overhang the spring about 
ten feet high. Two large oak trees grow immediately over the 
spring, and rise out of the cliff overhanging it. While the stream 



Hidory of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 149 

has never gone dry within the memory of the young men, the 
current of water has very much decreased in the last fifty years. 

The headwaters of Jessamine creek are in the midst of one of 
the most fertile portions of Jessamine county. The Singletons, the 
Cokers, the Sanduskys, the Chownings, and the Barclays settled 
in this neighborhood. Jeremiah Singleton, one of the earliest 
settlers on Jessamine creek, built a mill about half a mile below 
the mouth of the creek. It was used both as a saw and a grist 
mill. The dam was built first of stone, and afterw^ards lined with 
brick laid in cement. The mill itself was built of stone. Steam 
with its accommodating powers, which could be located on roads 
or in cities, superseded these old mills, and, about fifteen years 
ago, the mill was torn down and the bricks in the dam removed 
and used for other purposes. 

Beginning at its very mouth, the creek passes through some 
of the finest land in Kentucky, which is admirably adapted for 
corn, btit principally for hemp. Beautiful farms with elegant 
and tasteful residences are seen on every side, and the great fall 
which it is necessary for the stream to make in order to reach 
down to the bottom of the tremendous clifTs on the Kentucky 
river, furnishes magnificent mill sites, and there were no less than 
six mills along this stream. That part of the stream called the 
"Narrows," near Glass' mill, has some most beatitiful and pictu- 
resque scenery. 

The creek makes a horseshoe bend, the points of the shoe 
being very close together. Between these the earth rises several 
hundred feet high, and, standing on either side, you can look far 
down below upon the stream windmg its way in silence and 
grandeur to its resting place in the bosom of the Kentucky River. 
High up on the cliffs on the west side of the stream near the 
"Narrows" is the famous Chrisman Cave. This cave extends a 
great distance back from the entrance, running in a northwestern 
course, and it is a neighborhood wonder and attracts many 
visitors from all parts of the country. 

A short distance below Spark's Ford is a natural curiosity, 
known as the "Little ^Mountain." It is a mound standing out 
separate and single and having no connection with the cliffs. 
There by the action of the water, or by some upheaval of nature, 
it has cut loose from all surroundings, and stands out alone and 
independent. 



History of Jexmmine CoKHti/, Keutucki/. 151 

The creek was given its name prior to 1774, and prior to that 
time it had been mentioned at Harrodsbtirg. There are two 
branches of the creek known as "Main Jessamine" and "East 
Jessamine." The East Jessamine rises about three-fourths of a 
mile above Xicholasville, between the Cincinnati Southern and 
the R. N. I. & B. R. R., on what is known as the Horine Place. 
It passes through the town of Nicholasville, and, keeping to the 
east of the Danville Turnpike, enters the main branch about three 
miles below Nicholasville. 

The stone mill, known now as "Glass' Mill," three miles from 
the Kentucky river, is certainly over one hundred and ten (no) 
years old. It is supposed to have been laid out as a mill-site 
as early as 1782. It was subsequently turned into a paper mill 
which was operated as late as 1849. The rag-house and office 
still stand in a perfect state of preservation. Subsequently it was 
turned into a distillery, run by a gentleman named Bryan, and is 
now owned by Mr. Henry Glass. It has water power sufficient to 
operate the mill seven months in the year, and yields 72-horse 
power. It is a most admirable site, and is as picturesque and 
beautiful as it is useful. 

Jessamine creek is about thirty miles in length. 

Hickman Creek. 

Hickman creek rises in Fayette county not far from Lexing- 
ton, and after running through Fayette and the eastern half of 
Jessamine county, empties into the Kentucky river near what is 
known as "Boone's Knob." It is a larger stream than Jessamine 
creek, and was named for Rev. John Hickman, a pioneer Baptist 
preacher. It has an east and west branch, and each of these has 
numerous tributaries, which pass through high clifTs and ridges, 
rivaling at times the cliiTs on the Kentucky river itself. The 
country 'between the two branches of Hickman creek is one of 
the most fertile in Jessamine county. The section drained by 
Hickman creek is well timbered, and has still a superb growth of 
oak, hackberry. ash, and hickory, with a sprinkling of maple. 
Along this creek the earliest settlements of Jessamine county were 
made, and some of the best citizens who ever came to Jessamine, 
made their homes in this locality. Mr. Philip Swigert, who was 



152 History of Jesmmine County, Kentncky. 

born September 2/, 1798, came from this neighborhood. When 
quite a young man he became a deputy in the Woodford Circuit 
Court Clerk's office, under John McKinney. who formerly re- 
sided in Jessamine. He afterwards removed to Frankfort and 
died in 1 871, in the 74th year of his age. He was one of the most 
distinguished Masons in the state, a self-made man. and by his 
native force, great good sense, and indomitable perseverance, ac- 
quired a large fortune and also secured a high standing with the 
best men of the state. He was born on the old farm near Marble 
Creek schoolhouse. once the property of A. P. Davis. 

Jas. Rutherford, Sr., was another of the early settlers. He 
was a man of native force, strong friendships, great will, and a 
large number of his descendants still live in that portion of the 
county. 

Abram Vince, who was born in Pennsylvania, in 1784, and 
died January 17, 1874, was also one of the settlers in this district. 
He came to Jessamine in 1803 ; he was a descendant of the Swiss 
emigrants who settled in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, the first 
half of the eighteenth century. He was a man of high character, 
great industry, and has left for himself and those who bore his 
name a goodly heritage. 

Harrison Daniel also owned property in this section, and long 
bore honorable and honored part in the government of Jessamine 
county. He was sherifif of Jessamine county under the Consti- 
tution of 1799, as also a Justice of the Peace. He was a man of 
good education and strong mind. He was a member of the legis- 
lature in 1836 and '37. 

The Bridge at the Mouth of Hickman. 

The bridge at the mouth of Hickman was long considered one 
of the engineering wonders of Kentucky. It was part of the 
structure of the turnpike between Lexington. Nicholasville and 
Pancaster. It was projected when the state was interested in in- 
ternal improvements, and was lending its credit and its money to 
the construction of railroads, canals and turnpikes. It cost 
$30,000. The length of a span was 270 feet, which was unusual 
for a wooden bridge. Garrard county paid a part of the cost of 
the structure. It required six months to build it, and about 



IHxtnry of Je!<xaniine County, Kentucky. 153 

eighteen w orknien were employed upon it — a large proportion of 
these were unskilled and received a dollar a day. It was erected 
in 1838 by Lewis B. Wernwag, a native of Pennsylvania; he died 
in Lexington, Mo., in 1874, aged seventy-six years. For the 
time and with the materials at hand, it is a wonderful structure. 
It has now remained intact for more than sixty years ; it has car- 
ried all the traffic required on a great thoroughfare, and during 
the war it was considered so important that a regiment was sta- 
tioned on either side to protect it from destruction. It ;s not only 
a unique piece of engineering, but, in view of the advances in en- 
gineering since that time, was a signal triumph ; and, while it has 
long been one of the curiosities of Jessamine, it also stands as 
a monument to the engineering skill, enterprise and courage of its 
constructors. It was built some distance above the site and 
floated down the river on rafts- in sections, and when put to- 
gether in position it was so accurately constructed that not even 
a hammer was required to adjust its parts. 

High Bridge. 

One of the most noted of the engineering feats in the past 
thirty years, is the celebrated High Bridge, across the Kentucky 
river, at the mouth of Dick's river. It was built in 1876. The 
railway' approaches the span from either direction along a ledge 
of rocks several hundred feet above the° river, and the perpendic- 
ular clififs run from the track to the water's edge for a mile on 
either side. Where the bridge crosses the Kentucky river it has an 
elevation of 276 feet above the river bed. At one time it was the 
highest bridge on the continent, and at the period of its con- 
struction was a marvel of ingenuity. A great many distinguished 
engineers of the country pronounced the work an impossibility. 
It was necessary to build the structure without trestling, and for 
that reason the cantilever principle was introduced. By this 
principle one span is erected, and from the end of this span is 
built out into space part of another span. The length to which 
such spans may be extended out into the air without support is 
fixed by the weight of the span from which it is built, and these 
spans from which the cantilevers are extended are generallv 
weiehted so that thev carrv tremendous burdens. Manv dis- 



154 History of Jesmmine County, Kentucky. 

tinguislied engineers of America pronounced the plan of C. 
Shaler Smith, who constructed this bridge, visionary, and de- 
cided that it was not feasible in this way to construct a bridge at 
this point; but Mr. Smith was a skilled, learned and practical 
Ijridge engineer. 

At this point the Kentucky river with its channel had cut 
down through the stone clififs to a depth of about 290 feet. It 
was necessary to construct the bridge without trestles, and this 
Mr. Smith undertook to do. He assumed the responsibility of 
the construction personally, and in the end his designs and his 
calculations were found to be correct. The great cantilever 
arms stretched out from the piers on either side, reaching the 
middle of the channel, and when the last bolt, which was to hold 
them in place, was driven, it was said that they did not vary i-ioo 
of an inch from the calculations which this man had made one day 
in his ofifice in Baltimore. He immediately sprang into prom- 
inence as one of the great bridge engineers of the world, and since 
then others have followed his ideas and adopted his plans. 

The bridge known as Young's High Bridge, named in honor 
of Col. Bennett H. Young, over the Kentucky river at Tyrone, 
has a span 200 feet longer than the one constructed at the mouth 
of Dick's river. It is built upon the same principle, and thus over 
the Kentucky river are two of the great cantilever bridges of 
America. , 

At the time the Lexington & Danville Railroad was to be 
built, a suspension l^ridge was designed to cross this chasm, but 
the railway company failed after the piers had been erected, and 
these towers stand as a monument to the genius of John A. 
Roebling, who had the contract from the president of the Lex- 
ington & Danville Railroad, Gen. Leslie Combs, to build a 
suspension bridge, and about $100,000 were spent in the erection 
of the towers and anchorage for the construction of the suspen- 
sion bridge which it became necessary to abandon because of the 
lack of financial support. On one of the towers is this inscrip- 
tion : "Gen. Leslie Combs, born in Clark county, Kentucky, 
November 28, 1793." 

The old Cincinnati Railroad from Cincinnati to the South, was 
at first proposed as an outlet from the Ohio Valley to the south- 



History of Jesxamine County, Kentucky. 155 

eastern seaboard. The enormous cost of constructing the rail- 
road through the mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee, de- 
terred private means from undertaking such a task, and the city 
of Cincinnati, after full investigation, in the summer of 1869, un- 
dertook to build a trunk line of railroad from Cincinnati to Chat- 
tanooga, in order to give Cincinnati proper connectipns with all 
the southern railway systems which centered at Chattanooga, 
and also to open up to the Cincinnati markets portions of Ten- 
nessee and Kentucky. 

This line passes through Jessamine county for 17 miles, and 
is now one of the great American railway thoroughfares. To 
build it, Cincinnati paid out $20,000,000, but it has proven a good 
investment, and though it will pass from under the control of the 
citv which built it the cost has been amply returned in the bene- 
fits it has bestowed. 



Kentucky River Improvements. 

The Kentucky river flows through Jessamine county for 
nearly twenty-five miles. It bounds the county on almost one- 
half of its border lines. The state undertook to improve the 
Kentucky river, but it abandoned the work, and the locks never 
reached farther than Frankfort. 

In 1865 the Kentucky River Navigation Company was incor- 
porated by the Legislature, for the purpose of building new locks 
and dams, and extending the navigation of the river through 
Jessamine county. At the September term of the Jessamine 
Countv Court, in 1865, John S. Bronaugh was appointed a com- 
mission to subscribe for $35,000 of stock in the Kentucky Rivet 
Navigation Company, and in November, 1867, he was further 
directed to subscribe for $65,000 additional stock in the com- 
pany. The company failed and its creditors attached these sub- 
scriptions. Their validity was attacked. The courts relieved 
]\[ercer and Garrard counties of their subscriptions, but Jessa- 
mine county was held for a large proportion of hers and com- 
pelled to pay it. 

The river has been ceded to the United States .The old locks 
have been enlarged and repaired and new ones built. Naviga- 
tion is now assured to the mouth of Hickman all the year round. 



History of Jeammine County, Kentucky. 157 

Another lock in process of construction will give navigation 
throughout the entire river border of the county and in a few 
vears the system of locks will reach the coal fields on the North 
Fork of the Kentucky and secure to Jessamine county the ad- 
vantage of river transit for the entire year from the coal fields to 
the mouth of the river at Carrollton. 

Turnpikes. 

Few counties in the state are better supplied with turnpikes 
than Jessamine. They are built partly by private subscriptions 
and partly by county aid. There are about 175 miles of turnpike 
in the county, and when it is remembered that it only has 158 
square miles, it will be seen that the county is most thoroughly 
supplied with first-class roadways. At this time there are not 
ten miles of leading roads in the county that are not macadamized. 
The county has bought the turnpikes and hereafter they will be 
free. 

Ferries. 

Two of the earliest ferries established in Kentucky were with- 
in the limits of Jessamine county. 

The first ferry in Kentucky was across the Kentucky river at 
Boonesboro. authorized in October, 1779. by the Legislature of 
A'irginia, on the farm of Col. Richard Calloway; while the second 
ferry established by legislative authority in Kentucky was at the 
mouth of Hickman creek in 1785. The act was as follows: 

"Be it enacted by the General Assembly, that public ferries 
shall be constantly kept at the following places and the rates for 
passing the same be as followeth, that is to say : from the land of 
James Hogan in the county of Lincoln across the Kentucky river 
at the mouth of Hickman's creek to his land on the opposite shore 
in the county of Fayette, for a man four pence, and for a horse the 
same." 

\Jp to 1786, only five ferries had been established in Kentucky ; 
two across the Ohio river and three across the Kentucky river. 
Tn 1786, two more were established, one of which was the ferry at 
the mouth of Dick's river, the legislative act for which was as 
follows : 



158 Hidorij of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 

"Section I. Whereas, it has been represented to this present 
General Assembly that it would be of public utility to establish 
a warehouse for the reception and inspection of tobacco on the 
land of John Curd in the county of Mercer ; 

"Sec. II. Be it therefore enacted that an inspection of to- 
bacco shall be and same is hereby established on the land of John 
Curd lying at the mouth of Dick's riven in, the county of Mercer, 
to be called and known by the name of Curd's warehouse': 

"Sec. \ . Be it further enacted that a public ferry shall be con- 
stantly kept at the following places and the rates for passing the 
same as followeth, that is to say: Upon the land of the said John 
Curd in the county of Mercer across the Kentucky river to the 
opposite shore, for a man four pence, and for a horse the same, 
and for the transportation of wheeled carriages, tobacco, cattle 
and other beasts at the place aforesaid, the ferry keeper may de- 
mand and take the same rates as are by law allowed at other fer- 
ries. If the ferry keeper shall demand or keep from any person 
or persons whatsoever any greater rates than are hereby allowed, 
he shall for every ofifense forfeit and pay to the party aggrieved 
the ferriage demanded or received and ten shillings, to be awarded 
with costs before the justice of the peace of the countv where the 
offense shall be committed." 

The Largest Corn Crop. 

Jessamine county, it is claimed, has produced the largest yield 
of corn ever known. 

In 1840, Gen. James Shelby, of Fayette county, received from 
the Agricultural Society a premium for the most productive five 
acres of corn. The five acres yielded 550 bushels, or no bushels 
per acre ; but in the same year Walter C. Young, of Jessamine 
county, who then lived in the eastern part of it, gathered, by dis- 
interested parties, from two acres of a field of corn, the enormous 
yield of 195 and 198 1-2 bushels, respectively, which stands, so 
far as known, as the largest yield ever obtained from a similar 
area. 

Hemp Manufacture. 

The manufacture of hemp begun in Kentucky as early as 1796, 
and was introduced bv Nathan Burrows, of Lexington, who after- 



History of Jessamine Counti/, Kentuckij. 



159 



wards produced Burrows' mustard, which received the premium 
for excellence at the World's Fair in England in 185 1. 

The growth of hemp conmienced with the earliest days of the 
settlement of Kentucky. It came with the corn and fiax, among 
the first products of the state. The soil of Jessamine county 
has always been extremely favorable to the. production of this 
plant. The black loam, so general throughout many parts of 




GKORGE BROWN. 



the county, produces hemp of very heavy and excellent fibre, and 
Jessamine county stands among the greatest hemp-producing 
counties of Kentucky. Per acre, no county in the state produces 
a larger yield. 

Melanchthon Young, who resides about a mile from Nicholas- 
ville. on the Harrodsburg pike, has 1)een one of the great hemp 



160 



Hidonj of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 



growers of the county and in the last quarter of a century has 
rarely failed to secure fine crops. The introduction of Chinese 
hemp seed thirty years ago stimulated hemp product. As show- 
ing the extreme fertility of Jessamine county soil, the land upon 
which Mr. Young has been growing his hemp, a portion of it at 
least, has been in cultivation for more than one hundred vears. 




MELANCHTHON YOUNG. 



and the yield, after a century of use, of the ground is greater than 
when the crop was first planted in the virgin soil. 

Jessamine county has always been one of the great hemp coun- 
ties of the state. Clark, Fayette, Scott, Bourbon, Woodford 
and Jessamine; grow the bulk of the hemp crop raised in Ken- 
tucky, and in the earlier period of manufacture in the state this 
staple produced great profits and brought large gains to those 



Hi4orij (if JeKxamuie County, Kentucky. 161 

who were engaged in it. Among the pioneer manufacturers of 
bagging and rope were George I. Brown, ]\[oreau Brown, George 
Brown, Henry Metcalf, WilHam Scott and Col. OHver Anderson. 
iVIr. Cleveland, in Keene, also manufactured rope and bagging. 
[Most of the people engaged in this business amassed large for^ 
tunes. The bagging was used at that time in baling cotton 
throughout the Southern States, and there was no other substi- 
tute, prior to the fifties, for the Kentucky bagging. 

This bagging was generally carried to the Kentucky river and 
shipped by steamboat to Louisville, and thence distributed 
throughout the South. \'ery few white men were ever employed 
in this manufacture. Most of those who' operated the factories, 
owned in large part the negroes necessary to carry on the busi- 
ness, and where they did not have sufficient hands, thev hired 
them from the surrounding farmers, by the year. 

The hacking of the hemp was done in open sheds, and the 
dust, which has, in close factories, been so detrimental to health, 
was not considered injurious by those engaged in the manu- 
facture in Jessamine county. 

The hemp crop in Jessamine was not sufficient to supply all 
the factories operated, and much of the staple was purchased and 
bought in parts of Garrard, Mercer and Woodford and hauled to 
Nicholasville and there manufactured. Geo. L Brown was prob- 
ably the pioneer of hemp manufacture in Jessamine. He was a 
man of fine personality and a strong intellect. He repre- 
sented Jessamine county in the Senate in 1829 and 1834, and in 
the House of Representatives in 1829 and 1832. 

Robert Crockett, a son of Col. Joseph Crockett, built what 
is now known as the Union Mills, five miles northeast fro^m Nich- 
olasville on Hickman creek. The buildings were constructed 
about 1803, and comprised a grist mill, a saw^ mill and a powder 
mill. This mill has continued in operation down to the present 
day. The old stone house near it. which Avas erected at the same 
time, is still one of the most substantial houses in the countv. 



Nicholasville Beginnings. 

Maj. Anderson Miller, in 1805, made up a large lot of gun- 
powder, at his father's residence in the northern part of Jessa- 
11 






•;/ N^Vw^, ^-^t.^*^ 




Hidory of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 1 63 

mine ; he hauled it by wag-ons to Louisville, bought tiatboats and 
shipped it to New Orleans. The venture was largely remunera- 
tive. 

In July. 1824, a capillary steam engine, invented by Dr. Joseph 
Buchanan, was used in working Jackson's cotton factory in 
Nicholasville. 

In early days cotton was grown quite extensively in Ken- 
tucky, in sufficient quantity to meet all the wants for family use. 

Dr. Joseph Buchanan ^vas a professor in Transylvania Uni- 
versity, and this engine was a remarkable piece of work. It was 
claimed for it that it was perfectly safe and that one cord of wood 
would sustain a seven-horse power for twenty-four hours. In- 
ducements were offered to owners of steamboats to avail them- 
selves of this capillary arrangement, because of its great power in 
proportion to its weight, to enable boats to outrun all competi- 
tors by changing the l)oiler for a generator, thus converting the 
boilers then in use into capillary engines. 

The first shoemakers in Nicholasville were Samuel Peake, 
Thomas Dunbar and a colored man named Martin. Also James 
Lusk, who carried on the business until 1837. 

The first saddle and harness-maker in Nicholasville came in 
181 2, and was named Edmund Phipps. David Majors was an- 
other person, who carried on a saddlery and harness business 
three-quarters of a century ago. 

Early in the twenties Edmund Emanuel Hart established a 
cabinet-making shop and his son, Joseph Hart, settled in Nich- 
olasville as a cabinet-maker in 1834. 

The first hat-makers were Thomas Foley and Stephen Guy, 
and they made wool hats in a house on the lot now occupied by 
the hemp factory of E. R. Sparks, and on the corner lot of Dr. 
Tall^ert, John Fritzlen carried on the making of silk and fur 
hats. It was with him that Robert Young learned this business 
of manufacturing silk and fur hats and opened a factory in Nich- 
olasville, in 1825. 

John La Fevers, of French Huguenot extraction, had a pot- 
tery establishment on the lot of the late ]Mrs. Eve. His daughter, 
Nancy La Fevers, was the first person to open a school in Nicho- 
lasville, in 1802. 

Miles Greenwood, of Cincinnati, v ho was a dav laborer on the 



16-1 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 

Lexington and Danville turnpike in 1831 and '2>^, helped to dig- 
the land down on a level with the pike where the court house now^ 
stands. He w^orked with James Gooch, who had undertaken to 
build a section of the pike running thiough Nicholasville, two 
miles each way from the town. Mr. Greenwood afterwards be- 
came one of the most distinguished men in the business world at 
Cincinnati. 

Postmasters of Nicholasville. 

The postmasters of Nicholasville have, some of them, held 
unusually long terms. Benjamin Netherland held the office 
from i8or to 1822; Dr. Archibald Young from 1822 to 1826, and 
Wm. Rainey, from 1826 to 1835. He was succeeded by Jas. 
Lusk; ihe by James A. Welch, he by David P. Watson, and he by 
Jas. A. Welch. In 1848 D. P. Watson was again appointed post- 
master, and was succeeded by R. A. Gibney, who held the office 
until 1856, when he was succeeded by Joseph P>itzeen. After 
him, Thos. Payton held the office for eight years, then H. C. Ro- 
denbaugh, who remained postmaster for eight years. Then fol- 
lowed W. J. Denman ; he was succeeded by Samuel ]M. Anderson 
who held the office for eight years, and was succeeded by John 
B. Smithers, who held it for four years, and he gave place to W. 
L. Bviford, who now holds the place. 

Court House in Nicholasville. 

The first court house erected in Xicholasville was built in 1823. 
In earliest times the quarter session judges who represented the 
Circuit Court held their sessions in sheds or stables, or in par- 
lors of their private homes. Judge William Shreve, the last of 
the quarter session judges, often held court in a shed attached 
to a large stable on the ground where the Jessamine Female In- 
stitute is now built. The court house of 1823 was a brick build- 
ing and was used until 1878. It had thus served the people fifty- 
five years. It was erected by Thompson Howard, who removed 
to Missouri, and died there in 1836. It was inconvenient and un- 
comfortable, but it served well in its day, and the men of the 
present generation have many delightful and pleasing memories 



History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 165 

connected ^^■ith the old red brick edifice in which they have often 
listened to the great men who made Kentucky history, for the 
half-century following- 1820. 

The first work on the present court house was done Septem- 
ber 5, 1878. The new building cost $38,385, and is a superb 
structure of modern style. The magistrates composing the 
County Court, when the question of either repairing the old court 
house or putting up a new one was first advocated by Hon. W. 
H. Phillips, the present County Judge, were : Dudley Portwood, 
John J. Cobbman, E. J. Young, Charles McDavitt, Mordecai 
Crutchfield, Richmond Plunter, George T. Nave, R. J. Scott, 
Isaac Bourne and Edmund E. Horine. A commission had been 
appointed, consisting of G. B. Bryant, J. L. Logan and W. G. 
A\'oods, to examine the old court house. They reported that it 
could not be repaired. Thereupon the construction of a new 
court house was undertaken. It may stand for a hundred years 
as a monument to the public spirit and wisdom of the officers who 
laid before the people the necessity and the advantages of a new 
structure, which in all its appointments is creditable to a great 
county. 

It has all modern appliances and conveniences, it was pro- 
vided for by taxation and the obligations of the county have 
long since been paid ofT. It was opened for the public in 1878. 
The ministers resident of the town of Nicholasville, were invited 
by County Judge Phillips to dedicate the structure with re- 
ligious ceremonies, which occurred at nine o'clock on Monday 
morning. The following ministers were present : Rev. A. D. 
Rash, Baptist; W. F. Taylor, Methodist Episcopal, South; T. F. 
Farrell. Methodist Episcopal; Rev. Russell Cecil, Presbyterian; 
also the venerable John T. Hendricks, of Paducah, who died onlv 
a few months since in Texas. 

Judge Phillips first spoke in the new building. He announced 
the purpose of the meeting. After the reading of scripture. Dr. 
Hendricks took the ten commandments as the basis of his ad- 
dress on "The Law ^^'hich Should Govern Men and States." The 
members of the bar at the opening of the court house in 1878 
w-ere: George S. Shanklin, Benj. P. Campbell, J. S. Bronaugh, 
H. A. Anderson, T. U. Wood, M. T. Lowry, A. L. McAfee, W. S. 
Holloway, George R. Pryor, L. D. Baldwin, J. C. Wicklifife, W. 



Hixtorij of Jpsxainine County, Kentveky. 167 

H. Crow, G. B. Letcher, Ilenjamin A. Crutcher. On tlie same 
day Circuit Court met. Honorable Joseph D. Hunt. Judge of 
the court, arrived at noon and at one o'clock opened court, with 
Charles J. T.ronston, Connnonwealth Attorney, who had been 
recently elected to that position. 

Of the sixteen grand jurors who were then empaneled only 
five remain: Lee Reynolds. G. W. Goode, W. J. Dennan and 
G. S. Moseley. 

Hotels. 

Xicholasville in its earliest days had distinguished men as pro^ 
prietors of its hotels. In those times keeping hotel was a much 
more important business than in later years. Immediately after 
the cessation of the Indian raids in Kentucky, there was such a 
tremendous influx of travelers that almost everv gentleman took 
out tavern license. The prices were not very extravagant, but 
it was more to accommodate friends and to show hospitality than 
to make profits. The uniform price was. for each meal of victuals, 
25 cents ; for lodging and a bed at night. 12 1-2 cents ; horse, 121-2 
cents ; horse with corn and fodder at night. 18 3-4 cents. Whisky 
and brandy were plentiful, as the prices show at tins time. The 
price was. for whisky or peach brandy, 18 3-4 cents per pint, apple 
brandy and cherry bounce, 4 pence a drink. 

Joshua Brown was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. He 
married Margaret Mansel. He was in the siege of Yorktown, 
and served for six months under the immediate supervision of 
General Washington. He came from Baltimore. Maryland, and 
landed in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1789. He had four 
sens: Col. Washington Brown, Preston Brown, Samuel 
Brown, and Col. Thomas Jefiferson Broiwn. The twoi latter 
were both graduates of the Transylvania University. Wash- 
ington studied and practiced law. He married (len. Hugh 
Chrisman's daughter Alatilda ; Lieneral Chrisman then lived on 
Hickman creek, at the old stone house, the last building erected 
by Gov. Thomas IMetcalf in the county. Col. Geo. W. Brown 
settled in Nicliolasville in 1825. He twice represented the county 
in the legislature. He was an enterprising citizen and a suc- 
cessful manufacturer of hemp. He left Kentucky in 1837 and 



1G8 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 

moved to Charleston, South CaroHna, where he died in 1862. 
Alexander Campbell said of him that he was the most perfect and 
courtly gentleman that he had ever met. The names of these two 
sons, Washington and Thomas Jefferson, evinced a high degree 
of patriotism ; one being named for George Washington and the 
other for Thomas Jefferson. 

Thomas Jefferson Brown came to Nicholasville and took charge 
of the hotel in 1836. He was a man of splendid appearance, six feet 
two inches in height, and on county militia davs, in his fine uni- 
form, and on his thoroughbred horse, in a suit of blue, with a red 
silk sash and golden epaulets, he impressed all who saw him 
with his superb physique. He studied medicine, but did not 
practice. He married Miss Alary J. Wallace, of Jessamine, and 
settled in Nicholasville, taking charge of the Central Hotel, where 
he died in 1849. He was reckoned as one of the most courteous 
men of the county. His kindly heart prompted him to many 
generous deeds and his helpfulness to the struggling and de- 
serving left him many grateful and sincere mourners. He first 
urged the necessity of a public cemetery in Nicholasville, helped 
to lay off Maple Grove cemetery, and was the first person buried 
there. He and his wife dispensed kindly hospitality. They 
were charitable and humane, and created pleasing impressions 
on all who visited Nicholasville. They left a family who have al- 
ways been prominent in county affairs. Miss Henrietta Brown, 
Mrs. Virginia Noland, and Mrs. \lctoria Alitchell were daugh- 
ters of Col. Brown. 



Public WelL 

The Public W^ell on the corner of Main and Maincross 
streets in Nicholasville is one of the most remarkable in Ken- 
tucky. Twice during the Civil War and in very dry seasons it 
had its capacity tested to the fullest extent. The Ninth Army 
Corps, commanded by General Burnside, encamped for three 
weeks around the town and the entire division used the water 
from this well night and day. Several thousand of General 
Bragg's army also encamped near Nicholasville and used water 
from the well in September, 1862, and even these were unable to 
reduce the strength and power of its flow. This well is t8o feet 



Hidovij of Jeiimmine County, Kentucky. 169 

deep and was bored by John W. Charlotter, a blind man. The 
weU was put down in the year 1846, and afiter blasting- down to 
the unusual depth of 180 feet a stream of water was struck. Tt 
gushed up ten feet high and from that time to this has furnished 
all who demanded of it, clear, cool, refreshing drink. No drouth 
and no call upon its resources has ever lessened its flow, and 
after more than half a century of usefulness it is yet the pride and 
comfort of the citizens of the town. 



Bethel Academy. 

The Legislature of A'irginia in 1780 set apart 8,000 acres of 
land for the establishment of schools in Kentucky. The Ken- 
tucky Methodists early took measures to secure part of the land 
appropriated to this purpose. P3ishops Coke and Asbury attend- 
ed a conference held at McKnight's, on the Yadkin river, North 
Carolina, in 1789. Here the Kentucky Methodists, by letter and 
messenger, recjuested direction. The response to this petition 
was that during the next year Bishop Asbury would visit Ken- 
tucky, and if the petitioners could secure a grant of 5,000 acres oi 
land from the state or individuals, a college should be completed 
within ten years. Early the next spring Bishop Asbury, accom- 
panied by his friend, Richard Whatcoat, who was himself after- 
wards made a Bishop, came through from Virginia on horseback 
to Kentucky. They stopped on their way in Southwestern Vir- 
ginia, and there waited for an escort from the friends in Ken- 
tucky. The Kentucky guards did not appear as soon as had been 
expected, but 011 a certain Monday morning Bishop Asbury re- 
lated to Mr. Whatcoat that the night before in a dream he had 
seen the friends for whom they had been waiting. After break- 
fast they retired to the banks of a small stream nearby for prayet 
and meditation. While engaged in these services he saw ap- 
proaching over the hills two men. He felt at once that these were 
the Kentuckians coming for him. This proved to be the fact. 
These men were Peter Massie, afterwards known in Kentucky as 
the "Weeping Prophet," and John Clark. They delivered the 
Bishops their credentials and told them that they had left a guard 
of eight men in the valley below, ready to start for Kentucky, as 



Hidori/ of Jexsamliie Conntu, Kcntiichj. 171 

soon as was liis pleasure to beg-in the journey. The following 
is the entry that IHshop Asburv made in his journal: 

"After reading the letters and asking counsel of God, I con- 
cluded to go with them." 

They left Southwestern Mrginia early in ^lay. 1790. with six- 
teen men and thirteen guns. They were to make a journey of 
more than 200 miles through a wilderness constantly waylaid 
with savages. Three times a day the}' halted to feed and refresh 
themselves, and each time they sought God's protection and guid- 
ance in prayer. The first day they rode 35 miles, the second 45 
and the third 50. This rapid travel proved a little inconvenient 
to the Bishop, who complained that he could neither sleep nor eat. 
He says : "\\'hile in camp some were on guard, while others 
rested." The}' frequently passed the graves of those who had 
been slain l)y the savages. In one camp he saw 24 graves. 

They arrived in Lexington on the 12th of May. On that day 
the Bishop preached and then held a conference in the house of 
Richard Masterson. Constant services were held ; ministers were 
ordained. Francis I^oythress, the Bishop declared, was nmch 
alive to God, and they arranged for a school to l)e known as 
Bethel Academy. 

They rode to the land of Thomas Lewis, at the bend of the 
Kentucky river, near High Bridge, and ]Mr. Lewis there offered 
the Bishop a hundred acres of land as a site for Bethel Academy. 
The Bishop remained in the vicinity nearly two weeks, preaching 
every day, making acquaintances and many friends for the pro^ 
jected scheme. 

His principal asistants in establishing Bethel Academy were 
Rev. Francis Poythress and Rev. John Metcalf. A brief sketch 
of Mr. Poythress will not be out of place. 

He belonged to an old and distinguished family of A irginia. 
He sought the instructions of a minister of the church of Eng- 
land, and in 1773 he was led to the Saviour and connected him- 
self with the Atethodist church. 

In Xorth Carolina, Maryland, Tennessee and A'irginia he did 
si)lendid work for the church to which he had made his allegiance. 
Whenever there was danger he was always ready to go where 
duty called. Whenever there was a difficult commission he 
would sav : "Here am I, send me." He traveled over a large 



172 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 

part of these states, preaching under the trees and in cabins, en- 
during all the hardships of the settlers in their Avilderness homes. 
A man of some scholarship, he was easily enlisted in the work of 
building Bethel Academy, in which he was not altogether suc- 
cessful and was unjustly censured. His health failed and his 
mind gave way. He removed from Kentucky afterwards to 
North Carolina. He never entirely recovered either his spirits 
or his health or his energy. He returned to Kentucky in 1801, 
but no work was assigned to him. He made his home in Nich- 
olasville. In 1810 Bishop Asbury saw him and was deeply dis- 
tressed at his condition. 

In 1792 Bishop Asbury made his second visit to Kentucky 
and he entered in his journal: "I wrote an address on behalf of 
Bethel School," and later on he says, "I find it necessary to 
change the plan of the house to make it more comfortable for thfe 
scholars." Rev. Thomas Hinde, a contemporary of Bishop As- 
bury, makes this entr}^: "Bethel Academy. Our conference for 
1797 was held at Bethel School, a large three-story building 
erected by Mr. Poythress on the bank of the Kentucky river, in 
Jessamine county." 

The work of building had progressed so that in the year 1794 
a school was opened. The following letter from Rev. Jno. Met- 
calf , will be interesting : 

Nicholasville, Jessamine Co., Ky. 
June 13, 1794. 
Hon. George Nicholas: 

I have lately received from you two of your kind letters and 
would have answered them before now, but I have taken charge 
of Bethel Academy and I have been so confined for the last two 
weeks in fitting up suitable places of abode for some of my pupils 
that I have greatly neglected my private afifairs, especially that 
portion of it which you are attending to in Lexington. 

Your friend, 

John Metcalf. 

The Kentucky conference of the Methodist church in 1797 
met in Bethel Academy. The Rev. Mr. Metcalf was principal 
until 1803. For a while Bethel School was a competitor of 



Hutory of Je!<samine County, Kentucky. ■ 173 

Transylvania Academy, at Lexington, then under control of Pres- 
l^yterians. The original site of Bethel Academy was chosen for 
its wonderful beauty and for its adaptability for a village. The 
lines of travel and lines of settlement could not then be deter- 
mined. It ought naturally to have been the county seat of the 
county. 

In 1799 Rev. \^alentine Cook took charge of the literary de- 
partment with Rev. Francis Poythress as assistant. Mr. Cook 
was a man of scholarly attainments and was a distinguished grad- 
uate of Cokesburg College, at Abbington, Md. He remained 
with the school one year. His anti-slavery views induced his re- 
moval. 

In 1803 Rev. John Metcalf moved to Nicholasville and open- 
ed in his own house a school which he called Bethel Academy, 
Mr. Harris maintaining Bethel School on the Kentucky river as 
a neighborhood school until 1805. In 1798 Mr. Metcalf pur- 
chased several lots in the village of Nicholasville and erected a 
good log house, which still stands and is the property of his 
grandson, John Metcalf. At this house Bethel Academy w-as 
continued until 1820, when a new brick building was built and the 
school was contin.ued in it under the name of Bethel Academy. 

About this time Mr. Metcalf died, in the sixty-third year of 
his age. 

In 1798 the Legislature of Kentucky passed an act incorporat- 
ing Bethel Academv. The first section of the act is as follows : 



CHAP. XXXI. 

An Act Establishing Bethel Academy, and Incorporating the 
Trustees Thereof. 

Approved Feb. 10, 1798. 

I. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, that the Rever- 
end F'rancis Poythress, John Knobler, Nathaniel Harris, John 
Metcalf, Barnabas McHenry, James Crutcher, James Hord and 
Richard Masterson, shall be, and they are hereby, constituted a 
body politic and corporate, to be known by the name of trustees 
of Bethel Academy, and by that name shall have perpetual suc- 
cession, and a common seal, with power to change the same at 



I 




History of Jeffmnihie County, Kentucky. 175 

pleasure ; and as such shall be authorized to execute all powers 
and privileges that are enjoyed by trustees, governors or visitors 
of any college or university within this state, not herein limited 
or otherwise directed. 

Section 6 j^rovides as follows : 

"The President of said academy shall be a man of most ap- 
proved ability in literature." 

For five years from 1841 Professor A. R. Xorthup, A. M., a 
graduate of the VVesleyan L'nivcrsit} . was at its head. He was 
succeeded by Charles F. Smith. In the early part of the century 
a grant of 6,000 acres of land was made by the state of Kentucky 
to Bethel Academy. In 1876 Professor A. M. Gordon was 
elected principal. He was the ablest teacher ever in charge of 
the school. In 1877 the property of the academy was leased to 
Professor Gordon for ten years, Professor Gordon introducing 
the condition that five indigent, sprightly boys should attend the 
academy each year free of charge for tuition. 

Under the direction of Professor Gordon Bethel Academy 
attained high rank as a school. The buildings as uiodernized 
are in the middle of five acres of ground, and they are large and 
elegant, and were erected in 1878 at a cost of $7,000. After the 
abandonment of the site on the Kentucky river the one hundred 
acres of land given by Air. Lewis reverted to his estate, but por- 
tions of the material of the Imilding were taken to Nicholasville 
and used in erecting a school building there. At the end of 105 
years Bethel Academy has been turned over to Nicholasville. and 
is now a graded school. It is used for the public benefit. It has 
lost its denominational control, and i.i part of the great system of 
the general education of the masses in the State of Kentucky. 

The first site of Bethel Academy is still easily found. On the 
splendid eminence overlooking the mighty banks of the Ken- 
tucky, one can stand on the ruins of the ancient building, in which 
was begun the life of this school, and for miles around can see 
what a hundred years of cultivation and growth have wrought. 
The school is gone. The structure, then palatial as an educa- 
tional home, has crumbled and decayed, but as the eye takes in 
the picturesque and charming landscape, covering parts of Gar- 
rard, Jessamine, Woodford and Mercer counties, with fertile 
farms, happy homes, large families, loyal and true citizens, all 



176 History of JesKamine County, Kentucky. 

contented in their abiding places and all busy and satisfied with 
their places in life, the saddening memories of the old school, are 
hushed by admiration for the prosperity, peace and industry 
which rise up to tell that the work of a century is not lost, but 
that the grandsons and great-grandsons of these educational pio- 
neers are not unworthy of the founders of this ancient school, in 
which were centered the hopes and aims of the brave and liberal 
men who gave it a name and being: in the wilds of a wilderness. 



Jessamine Female Institute. 

One of the most important and successful of all the enterprises 
in the county has been Jessamine Female Institute. In 1854 an 
act of the Legislature was passed allowing the organization of a 
company for the purpose of conducting a female school of a high 
character; such as would attract patronage from abroad, as well 
as give the highest facility for education in the town. The capital 
stoick was fixed at $2,500 in shares of $100 each. The articles of 
incorporation under this act were signed by Alexander Lyle, 
Thos. E. West, L. H. Chrisman, J. D. Hii, R. E. Woodson, Her- 
vey Scott, Robt. Young, D. B. Price, J. A. Scrogin, J. P. Letcher, 
W. C. Letcher, M. T. Lowry, G. M. Barkley, Isaac Barkley, J. 
F. Barkley, C. F. Smith, A. L. McAfee, M. T. Young, Samuel 
McDowell, Wm. McDowell, Jas. H. McCampbell. 

After this, in 1855, the schbol was reorganized, and Rev. M. 
Branch Price, a Presbyterian minister, was elected principal. 
After some years of successful administration he was removed b\ 
death, and was succeeded by Mrs. Jacob Price, wife of the Rev. 
Jacob Price, a Presbyterian minister. In 1857 she was succeeded 
by Rev. Mr. Frazee, a Presbyterian divine, and he in turn, bv 
Mrs. Browning, who presided one year. 

In i860 Rev. Joseph McDowell Matthews, of Hillsboro, Ohio, 
rented the ground and building and conducted the school under 
the name of the Jessamine Female College. The incorporators 
of this collge were J. C. Wilmore, Henry M. Chrisman, J. B. 
Cook, T. J. Cas'seU, Moreau Brown, S. S. Mizner, J. S. Bronaugli, 
J. W. Olds, R. M. Messick, John ^IcMurtry, P. H. Smith, W. R. 
Welch, Wm. Brown, Thos. B. Crutcher and J. S. Alitchell. 

At the end of the term of 1862 Dr. Matthews returned to Ohio. 



Hixtorij of Jexmmine County, Kentucki/. 177 

In 1863-64 Rev. J. E. Spilmau, then pastor of the Presbyterian 
church, conducted the school for several years. 

In February, 1866, the Legislature of Kentucky granted a 
charter for the Jessamine County Female Institute, with the fol- 
lowing incorporators : Robert Young, George Brown, Dr. 
Joseph P. Letcher, T. B. Crutcher and J. S. Bronaugh. Under 
this charter the school was to be non-sectarian. In 1881 the 
school was closed for want of patronage and in September of that 
year Miss M. F. Hewitt took charge of it as principal. Under 
her management it was highly successful for twelve years. In 
the very beginning of her administration the number of pupils 
was largely increased, and it became necessary to erect new and 
more commodious buildings. 

In 1 88 1 the Board of Trustees determined to erect the present 
building, at a cost of $20,000. This money was almost altogether 
subscribed by the citizens of the town and county. 

There have been a large number of graduates from the school •, 
several hundred, all of whom occupy either as teachers or in so- 
ciety, most prominent and distinguished positions. 

Miss Hewitt was compelled to resign her position as principal 
by reason of declining health, and in 1893 Mrs. B. W. Vineyard, 
the present principal, assumed control of the institution. Lender 
her conduct the reputation of the school has not declined and the 
condition of the buildings has been greatly improved. It now 
stands as one of the leading institutions in the state, has a large 
patronage from all parts of Kentucky and the South. The curri- 
culum is wide enough and broad enough for all purposes and 
the patronage has met the expectations of all connected with the 
management and control of the institution. 

Newspapers. 

There are two newspapers puljlished in Jessamine countv; 
the Jessamine Journal and the Xicholasville Democrat. The 
Jessamine Journal was founded by J. M. Parish, who came from 
Mt. Sterling in 1872, and was its editor and owner. For several 
years it was printed on a Washington hand-press and had a hard 
struggle for its existence. It changed owners seven or eight 
times, and the office was destroyed l)y fire in 1886. At the time of 
12 



Ili/itoni ol' JisMinliii (\tiiiitii, KiiilKckii. 



I7!t 



lliis till' 11 w.is well ot|iiippril with .i l.u l;^ pown pn-ss .nid ,i tiist 
rlass oultil ol l\p(.\ I, M, l\on, who puuh.isrd tlio pi. ml lioiii 
(.'. \\ . NKmvmIi attor llio I'lir, ran ii on a small simK- lor a short 
limo and in iSS;-sohlil lo Tol. II. M. ,\K-(. an \ , w ho w as ono ol' 
tho most sucoosslnl and distim^nislu'd jtuirnalists in kriitiirkv. 
Ilo was sv\MtMar\ ol st.iti' iiiuKm ( io\ rrnor knott, and hold other 




i.ons rnAiiiiK. 



positions oi distiiuMion, llan\ Mci. art \ , one of iho editors, w a;> 
the junior inomhor of tho oompanx , 

\l this tinio its odittu-ials were ipiotoil \er\ lari^oh throiij^houl 
the state. At the death ol I ol. Me(.'art\ in tSoi his interest was 
s*»ld to V. II. Morris, who w.is eonneeted with the paper until 
lSi).|. w hvMi he disposed oi his interest to J. I!. Slears. 

The paper is now edited h\ Mr. llarrv Mel'arlN and Mr. 
Stears. It has a wide eireulatii>n. denuK'ratie in its j^olities. 



380 History of Jessamine Count i/, Kentnehj 

The Nicholasville Democrat, an eight column foHo, was estab- 
lished in June. 1888. At that time it was the property of Louis 
Pilcher, the present editor and proprietor, and his brother Thomas 
Fielding Pilcher. After a short time a job printing plant was 
established. For eight years its office was in the old historic 
building erected by Judge Wake. 

Thomas F. Pilcher and his brother, Louis Pilcher, assumed 
the management of the paper. The former assisted in establish- 
ing the Lexington Argonaut. He did his first newspaper w^ork 
on the Lyceum Debater, afterward on the Central Courier, and 
was for five years the correspondent of the Cincinnati and Louis- 
ville dailies. He was one of the promoters of the Lexington 
Advertiser. Later he edited the Nicholasville Star. \n 1895 he 
established "The Coming Nation," which absorbed the Illustrated 
Kentuckian, and these two were merged into the Argonaut. He 
afterward founded the Blue Grass World and then returned to his 
present position as editor and proprietor of the Nicholasville 
Democrat. 

Mr. Pilcher lias had a wide experience as a new^spaper man. 
In the Cleveland campaign, he did work on the Louisville Courier- 
Journal, paragraphing and producing comic articles with Donald 
Padman. He was born in Nicholasville, July 11, 1855, opposite 
where the newspaper oflfice now stands. 

The first paper published in Nicholasville of political char- 
acter was the Nicholasville Democrat, in 1857 to i860. It was 
strongly anti-slavery, and the office w^as raided and the type pied 
and dumped in the streets. Samuel Leffingwell and the late Dr. 
Jno. C. Welch were its editors. For a while, from 1871 to 1875, 
Nicholasville was without a paper. The Central Courier was 
established by Samuel Owens in 1875 and subsecjuently con- 
solidated with the Jessamine Journal, and was known as the 
Journal-Courier. In 1875 the late L. D. Baldwin purchased a 
plant in Frankfort and edited a paper for one week. He sold it 
to W. T. Jones, who never printed an issue. At this time Col. 
]McCarty came to Nicholasville and secured the necessarv means 
to establish the Jessamine Journal. 

In 1895 the third paper was started, with M. E. Wilhoit as 
editor. It was printed in Lexington. This paper passed into 
the hands of J. T. Farrow and shortly afterward suspended. The 



Hidort/ of Jessamine Gountij Kentucky. 181 

Nicholasville News was published in 1878 by A. W. Huggins 
for a brief period. The first paper ever pubhshed in Nicholas- 
ville was a religions publication under Presbyterian auspices and 
was founded in early years, it is said. Others deny the whole 
story. 

Sulphur Well 

Sulphur \\q\\, about five miles from Xicholasville in the south- 
eastern part of the county, was for many years a prosperous vil- 
lage. The discovery of a well of sulphur water gave this town its 
name. For a long time many persons frequented the place to 
have the benefit of the waters, which were supposed to have 
medicinal value. It is on the main road from Nicholasville to 
Hickman creek. The first settler in the village was John Walters, 
a Baptist minister, and he succeeded in having a Baptist church 
built there in 1813. Mr. Walters and Robert Ashurst preached 
to the church for several years. 

Of late years, the village has had its name changed to Am- 
brose. It is improved very much, and the buildings in the village 
are neat and tasteful, and the people knid and hospitable. 



Wilmore. 

The following history of the ambitious and thriving city of 
A\'ilmore was prepared l)y Wm. G. Wilhite, and it is inserted as 
written by him : 

The village of Wilmore. the second in population in Jessa- 
mine county, is situated on the Cincinnati Southern railway, five 
miles southwest of Nicholasville and about the same distance 
north of the celeljrated High Bridge, where the railway crosses 
the Kentucky river. 276 feet above the water. Although bui 
eight years old, it contains a population of about 600, and is prob- 
ably groiwing more rapidly than any little town in Central Ken- 
tucky. A steady and constant increase, without any inflation 
or boom methods, has made a stable population of healthy growth. 
There is not a vacant house in the town today, and as fast as built 
a house is occupied. Its existence practically began with the 
foundation of Asbury College, which started September 2, 1890, 



182 Histori/ of Jesmmlne Comity, Kentucky. 

in four rooms, with two teachers and eleven pupils. Its growth 
has been, to a large extent, coexistent with the growth of this col- 
lege, botl: in Ijuilding and increase of faculty and students. 

In the first year there were enrolled 70 pupils. In the second 
year, 120. The highest number enrolled in any year was 160. 
In the eight years of its existence there have been over 1,000 
students enrolled and 25 graduates. Sixty ministers of the gos- 
pel have also been sent out from this school to various parts of 
the country in this time. Students from 20 states and from Can- 
ada, England, Japan and Persia have attended here, and its in- 
fluence has been widespread and is growing. 

Organized just 100 years after the founding of Bethel Acad- 
emy, the second chartered institution of American Methodism, and 
within four miles of the original site; it has renewed the work of 
its venerable predecessor with vigor and grown into a power. 

There are now six buildings, with the president's house, and 
a Icirge chapel, on six acres of campus. The college has a capac- 
ity for teac'hing 300 students and boarcUng 100, with a faculty of 
eight teachers. 

This remarkable growth is due in a large measure to the en- 
ergy, ability, and foresight of Rev. J. W. Hughes, the founder 
and president since its organization, whose constant labors have 
made Asbury College a strong and worthy monument to him- 
self, and a power for good in the community and abroad. * * 

BUSINESS, 

Its nine business houses, carrying almost everything in stock 
that is needed or used, draw a trade far beyond its limits, and from 
three counties. Two drug stores and three doctors, insure the 
continuance of a healthy community: three blacksmith and car- 
riage repair shops, find profitable employment ; one leather and 
harness shop is kept busy supplying everything in its line, from 
a buckle to a buggy top ; two butcher shops, and three large 
stores of clothing, dry goods, g-eneral merchandise and hardware 
supply the general needs of the outer and inner man. 

The Glass Milling Company was established here on July i, 
1891. Its mill, which ground 60,000 bushels of wheat last year, 
with a capacity of sixty barrels of floiu- per day, is one mile from 
the railway station. Its offices and warehouses, in Wilmore,. 




HENRY GLASS. 



Ilisfori/ of Je.<.-<iiiniiif (Joimty, Kciitiickij. 1H3 

were built February, 1897, and since then all its business has been 
transacted from this point. This company also deals in coal and 
lumber, and since its establishment, in the town, has handled 
over 2,000 tons of coal. 

Th(. Saegerser Mill Company has a grist mill in the town, 
run bv a gasoline engine, and does general grinding, and deals in 
meal, feed-stuiTs, etc. 

A good livery stable, well-patronized, is one of the conveni- 
ences. 

Wilmore is an important shipping point on the railway, as 
evidenced by the amount of freight received and forwarded. The 
receipts to the railway companies amount to about $25,000 per 
annum for freight and about $3,000 for passengers. Large 
ainounts of grain, cattle, hogs, produce, etc., are both shipped 
from and received here, in addition to merchandise, coal, lumber 
and articles of domestic consumption. 

It is essentially a moral and religious community, and the in- 
fluence of its churches and missionary work is felt widely beyond 
the limits of Jessamine county. 

The Presbyterian church, with a handsome place of worship, 
and a membership of 150, presided over by Rev. Dr. E. O. Guer- 
rant, himself a noted preacher and evangelist, in addition to hand- 
somely supporting itself and him, keeps at its own expense, five 
missionary ministers in the mountains of Kentucky, a record not 
equalled by any church in Central Kentucky. In addition it has 
educated two young men for the ministry, keeps up a perma- 
nent contribution to an orphan asylum in South Carolina, and 
giv 's largely to charity and foreign and home missions. Its record 
for liberality and quick response to worthy appeals is noted in 
its presbytery. Its pastor is a man celebrated throughout the 
South and East as a powerful and successful evangelist, both in 
the large cities and in the most remote mountains. 

The Metiiodist church adjoins Asbury College. It is also a 
commodious and handsome building. Its history and work is 
almost coexistent with that of Asbury, and much that has been 
said of the college in a former paragraph, applies also to the 
church. It was fcasnded fifteen years ago, and is the oldest and 
also the largest congregation in Wilmore, with a membership of 
225. This church is also in connection with Asbury College, 



184 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 

noted for its evangelistic work and spreads its influence through 
and beyond the state. The Rev. E. S. Savage, who has lately 
succeeded Rev. J. A. Sawyer, is the regular pastor, whose hands 
are worthily upheld by his congregation. 

The Christian church, though the youngest (founded in 1888}, 
is second in membership, having 150 communicants. The church 
has probably the handsomest interior of all. Rev. Mr. Robinson, 
lately appointed minister, is popular with his congregation. 

A colored church, with forty members, completes the list of 
houses of worship in the town, though two miles east is the thriv- 
ing and steady Mt. Freedom Baptist church. It is the oldest of 
the churches in the immediate neighborhood and numbers its 
members a generation back. 

With a well-conducted public school of seventy-five pupils, in 
a new and commodious schoolhouse; with handsome, modern 
dwellings,, and with social and educational advantages unex- 
celled anywhere in the state, it is not necessary to "boom" Wil- 
more, as a desirable place to reside or do business in. and we can. 
therefore, rest on the statement on which the Declaration of In- 
dependence was founded: "Let facts be submitted to a candid 
world." 

Church Land. 

Judge Tucker Woodson's place was for a long time known 
as "Church Land." and the origin of the name was interesting. 
An English gentleman of finished education and culture, of 
scientific tastes and talents, was a guest at Chaumiere, and be- 
came in time almost a part of the household. His name was 
Church. He had been with Robert Fulton experimenting with 
steam, and came from Pittsburgh down the Ohio river to 
Maysville on the first steamboat that ever ran on the river. 
From Ma}'sville he came to Lexington, and thence to Maysville, 
and made many experiments in his endeavors to perfect this 
wonderful invention and its application to the movement of 
vessels. He finally returned to England, married and brought 
his wife to Jessamine county to be near Colonel Meade and family. 
He was a man of independent means and built a quaint English 



Hidory of Jexminiiie Coiittfi/, Kentucky. 185 

cottage on the Woodson estate in the place now occupied by Mr. 
Jesse Bryan and Hved there some years, and from this circum- 
stance the place was always called Church Land. After some 
years Mr. Church removed to Lexington and died there. 



Camp Nelson. 

Camp Nelson has become quite an important village in the 
last few years. It is at the mouth of Hickman creek, near the 
wooden bridge, that spans the Kentucky river, on the line of the 
Lexington and Danville turnpike. It was established in 1863, 
and was the principal point for the concentration of Federal forces 
and munitions of war on the line of the CunHberland river. It was 
named in honor of Gen. William Nelson, who was born in Mason 
county, was a distinguished soldier, and was killed in Louisvdlle 
by Gen. JelTerson C. Davis, whoaii he had grossly insulted. 

It remained a militan,' camp until the close of the war, and has 
a fortified circumference of about ten miles formed, in large part, 
by the high hills and clififs of the Kentucky river, and partly by 
breastworks thrown up, that yet remain. On the land has been 
established a L^nited States mihtary cemetery, in which are in- 
terred over 5,000 Federal soldiers. The population of the village 
is, at this time, about 200, mostly colored people, who have set- 
tled on the cliffs and hills near the Kentucky river. 

Ariel College is located at Camp Nelson. This is an institu- 
tion for the education of colored men and women. It is officered 
h\ white teachers, and has been the source of great good and 
help to the colored people. 

Rev. John C. Randolpli was the first native Kentuckian who 
enlisted negro soldiers in Jessamine county. A copy of the fol- 
lowing letter written by him to Gen. Burbridge is interesting, 
historically : 

Nicholasville, Ky., June 9, 1864. 
Gen. S. G. Burbridge, 

Conmiander, Department of Kentucky: 
Sir — There is a slave in the county jail here, confined 
for no civil crime, but because his master feared he would run off. 
The bov has told me he wishes to volunteer as a soldier. Have 




—".-J-t.. ->i4 



. - A*-. 



COLORED BAPTIST CHURCH. 



Histori/ of Jesscunuie Count i^, Kcntuckij ]S7 

I the right to take him from the county jail and let him come into 
the army in the state? Most respectfully, 

J. C. Randolph. 
Deputy Marshal and Superintendent of Colored Enlistment at 
Camp Nelson. 

Another letter written about this time from Nicholasville will 
prove interesting. It was sent to the postmaster at Keene, and is 
as follows : 

Office Provost Marshal, 
Nicholasville. Ky., July i8, 1863. 
To the Postmaster of Keene, Ky. : 

I am informed that the Cincinnati Enquirer is distributed at 
your office. Military authorities forbid its circulation at vour 
office. You will stop it at once, or }ou will be arrested by the 
military authorities. 

John Pendleton, 
Captain and Provost Marshal. 

Keene. 

This village is about six miles northwest from Nicholasville. 
on the \ ersailles turnpike. It was laid out in 1813 and called 
North Liberty, but its name was changed to "Keene." in 1848. 
through the influence of Thoanas Jones, a hatter, who came and 
settled in the village about the year 1845. His native town in 
New Hampshire was Keene. and through his influence North 
Liberty Avas blotted out, and Keene was established. About the 
time of the cliange of the name, in boring for a well a fine stream 
of sulphur water was found. In those days, sulphur water, 
uherever found, was supposed to have valuable medicinal prop- 
erties, and. during the prevalence of cholera, in Lexington, about 
this time, a large number of people came to Keene and lived dur- 
ing the panic, occasioned by tliis disease in Lexington and sur- 
rounding towns. Keene had several stores and a very nice hotel •. 
and its stores do a first-class local business. It is within sight of 
the ]\It. Pleasant Baptist church. 

The neighborhood surrounding- Keene was settled bv some 
of the best men who in early times came to Jessamine county. 



188 Hutory of Jexmm'me County Kentuchj. 

There is an old stone-mill at Keene, which was built in 1794. In 
the last few years it has fallen into decay. This mill was provided 
with a combination of horse and water power, and was erected by 
Manoah Singleton. 

The Singletons were among the best people who came to 
Jessamine, and were good farmers and enterprising men, and they 
built this stone mill, which was a fine structure in its day. It has 
been operated until within the last twenty years. It relied for its 
water power upon a large spring, which was located about a 
mile and a half away, upon a place formerly owned by Mr. Robert 
Young, and sold by him to Mr. Andrew Hampton. This spring 
rises up in the valley, and runs down into a large cave, which w^as 
a habitation for the Indians before the advent of the white man in 
this section of Kentucky. This spring reappears some distance 
from Keene, and this and the water that flowed from other small 
streams in the neighborhood, supplied the power for the opera- 
tion of the mill at Keene. 

In the early davs, when steam was unknown, mill-sites were 
very valuable. When the hunters and pioneers first came to 
Kentucky, in crossing streams they would mark mill-sites, and 
in their notes state that at such and such a place was a good mill- 
site, and the lands that were contiguous to such sites were always 
considered of great value, and were promptly taken up by the 
settlers, or l\v their representatives. 

Surveyors in these days would laugh at the preservation of 
the water and its use in the operation of these mills, but in the 
davs of our forefathers, it was either water power or horse power, 
and horse power was extremely slow and inefifectual. and, as it 
sometimes required a mill-race to run a mile and a half to get 
the proper fall, opportunities were promptly and energetically 
seized wherever a proper fall of water could be secured by dams 
to operate these country mills. 



Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, 

One of the oldest churches in Jessamine county is Mt. Pleas- 
ant Baptist church, near Keene. It is located in a fine neighbor- 
hood, in the midst of rich lands, which were settled about 1790 



Hidonj of Jessamine County, Kentiicki/. 189 

by some of the most enterprising- and best-educated people who 
came to Jessamine county at that period of its history. From 
time to time there had been preaching in this locahty by the Bap- 
tists who were connected with the South Elkhorn church, which 
was over the Fayette line, but in 1801 at tlie request of one hun- 
dred members of the South Elkhorn church who were living; in 
the neighborhood of JMt. Pleasant, application was made to or- 
ganize a new congregation, and Rev. John Shackleford, Absalom 
Bainbridge, and John Kellar were authorized to investigate and 
constitute a church at this point. The South Elkhorn church 
still exists, but is not so prosperous as its daughter, Mt. Pleasant. 

The rules of the church which were adopted at this time were 
very peculiar, and were headed. "Rules of the Church While Sit- 
ting on Business" : 

Tst. It is agreed that no motion be attended to withottt the 
person making such motion addresses the ^Moderator standing, 
and this proposition be seconded. 

2nd. That no member speak while the church is on business 
except to the Moderator, and then in a mild and Christian man- 
ner. 

3rd. That no member speak in church meeting to the same 
matter more than twice without leave of the Moderator. 

4th. That no meml)er leave his seat in time of business. 

5tli. The Moderator sihall call to order, whenever these rules 
are violated. Any member called to order has a right to a voice 
of the church, if he chooses. 

Among the first members were the Williamses, the Woods, 
the Hugheses, the Smiths, the Singletons, the Haydons, the 
Hamptons, the Sales, the Mosbys, the Barclays, the HoUoways 
and the Proctors. 

From its commencement Mt. Pleasant has always been one 
of the most prosperous of the Baptist churches in the Bluegrass 
section. The neighborhood, settled by Baptists, has been domi- 
nated and controlled hx Ba]:>tists from the time of the organization 
of this church down to the present. It is an evidence of the per- 
sistence of the religious denomination in any community where 
once fairly planted. 

The first pastor was Rev. George Stokes Smith. He was a 
man of strong individuality, great talent, and was a member of 



1 90 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 

the convention which framed the Constitution of 1792, and 
represented Fayette county in that body. He was prominent and 
mthiential, and was pastor of the church from 1803 down to 1810. 
In that year Edmund Waller, a nephew of Rev. G. S. Smith, was 
called as pastor of the church, and remained with it until June, 
1843. He was a man of oreat power, great earnestness, and 
great consecration, and built up a very large congregation. The 
church book shows that the deacons in memory of Mr. Waller 
draped the pulpit in mourning for him who had been the true and 
faithful pastor of the church for thirty-two years, and the first 
Sabbath of July in that year w^as directed to be set apart as a day 
of fasting and prayer. Edmund W^aller, who was the father of 
John L. Waller, was born at Spottsylvania Court House, 
\'a., in 1775. He was the son of Wm. E. Wallet 
and brother of Wm. Smith Waller, the Lexington banker. His 
mother was a sister of George Stokes Smith. 

He was buried a few miles from Mt. Pleasant in one direction, 
while his uncle Smith is buried three miles south. He served the 
church longer than any other pastor. The church has had twen- 
ty-one pastors, the minister being the Rev. E. W. Argabrite, and 
under his ministration the church bids fair to have many years of 
continued usefulness. 

Nicholasville Presbyterian Church. 

The Nicholasville Presbyterian church was organized June 12, 
1820, by Rev. John Lyle. Alex. AIcFeeters, Samuel Rice and 
James Ewing were chosen the Elders. Previous to this the 
Presbyterian preaching place had been established about one and 
a half miles from Nicholasville on the farm of Samuel McDowell, 
which is now owned by his son, ^^'i]liam McDowell. 

The first member to connect herself with the church was Mrs. 
Jane Meaux. She was always one of its most faithful and liberal 
supporters. She donated to the church the ground on which the 
present church edifice and parsonage are situated. Rev. John 
F. Coons supplied the church from 1839 to 1852. 

The first church was erected when Rev. John Hudson was 
])astor. It was on the corner diagonally opposite the Jessamine 
]"emale Institute, occupied quite a large space, and had in con- 



Hixtoii/ of Jcxxaiiiliif Coimtij, Kcntiickij. 191 

ricetion with it, a burying-ground. The building was completed 
in 1825, but not dedicated initil ( )ctober 7, 1827. At this time a 
protracted meeting was held, and the church received a great 
out-pouring, and more than sixty persons were added to the mem- 
bership. 

This church has sent into the ministry an unusually large 
number of men, among whom may be mentioned Rev-. John T. 
Hendrick, Rev. Wm. G. Rice, Rev. Charles Sturtevant, Rev. M. 
R. Price, Rev. Thomas R. Welch, D. D., Rev. Daniel P. Young, 
Rev. Chas. W. Price, Rev. J. E. Spilman, Rev. Robert Mann and 
Rev. Jas. Priest, who was a slave of ^irs. Aleaux, and who, aftei 
his emigration to Liberia, was vice-president of that republic, 
having gone there as a missionary. 

The present cliurch building was dedicated on the 3rd of 
Jaflnary, 1851, by Rev. R. J. Breckinridge, D. D. The present 
])astor is Rev. R. E. Douglass. The gentlemen who have served 
as its elders have been among the most prominent citizens of 
Jessamine during the past seventy-five years, in addition to 
those already named, Ephraim Tanner, Dr. Archibald Young, 
IMaj. Daniel P). Price, Reuben P). Berry, Wm. IL Rainey, Oliver 
Anderson, Jas. Clement, Jas. ^IcKee, John L. Price, Otho Rob- 
erts, Thos. E. West. Jas. Anderson, Wm. S. Scott, Chas. F. Smith, 
John A. Scroggan, Wm. ~\l. Todd, Robt. Young, Jc^hn A. Willis, 
Wm. Clark, W. D. Young, Harvey Scott, W. G. Woods, S. D. 
Young, A. N. (iordon, Thomas Butler and John Steele. 

Maj. D. B. Price was Clerk of the Session for thirty-two years, 
Avhile John A. Willis has acted in the same caj^acity for thirty- 
eight years. 

This church is rega'-ded as one of the most liberal of the 
Presbyterian churches in Kentucky. Its donations to Center 
College, Central I^iiversity, Danville Theological Seminary, and 
to all the causes of the church have been extremely generous, and 
give the church a high standing among all Presbyterians. This 
church is the mother of the church at Wilmore, the church there 
having been supported and maintained by the Xicholasville 
church until it became self-sup])orting. 




¥■¥ 



Tui m p P. P| p 






iiiniiltlMI 




COLORKD CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 



i7/Vor// of J('xm))U)i(' Couulij, Kejdueky. 19H 



Clear Creek Presbyterian Church. 

One of the most interesting of the ancient structures in Jessa- 
mine county, is Clear Creek Presbyterian church. It was erected 
about 1829, and was organized by Rev. Nathan H. Hall. Among 
the names of the foimders are those of Dr. Archibald Young, 
James Carrothers, Ephraim Carter, David McKee, and Archi- 
bald Logan. This old church is about a mile and a half from 
Wilmore on the Xicholasville turnpike. It w-as abandoned some 
years since, and sold to the colored people, who now use it as a 
house of worship. At one time it was a very important 
congregation, and a large and prosperous church. Its first pastor 
\\as Rev. Simeon H. Crane, who served the church for one-third 
nf his lUiie for $150 per annum. 

It was built entirely of stone, and the old seats and floors and 
pulpit are still intact. 

In a little cemetery across the road sleeps the dust of many 
pious members, whose faith found expression in song and prayer 
in this old church. 



St. Luke's Catholic Church. 

l^he only Catholic church in Jessamine county is that of St. 
Luke, in Nicliolasville, Ky. It was erected in 1866 on ground 
deeded for that purpose by Moreau Brown. It was dedicated to 
the service of God in 1866 by Rev. Father Willie, and in this the 
Centennial year of Xicholasville has 156 members. 



Bethany Christian Church. 

One of the niost interesting church.es in Jessamine county is 
Bethany Christian church. It was organized on the first of Feb- 
ruary, 1845, through the ministration of Jacob Creath, Samuel 
J. Pinkerton and James Simms. For a long time it was one of 
the most prosperous and successful of the churches of that de- 
nomination in the county, but has recently been reduced. It had 
such members as Dr. James J. Burch. Samuel Muir, George S. 
Bryant, Benjamin Robinson, Dr. John Bryant, \\'illiam H. 
13 



194 Hidory of Je-immine County, Kentucky 

Daniel, Benj. J. Mitchell, and other responsible and prominent 
citizens. 

The Northern Methodist Church 

Was erected in Nicholasville in 1875. It is one of the hand- 
some church edifices of the town, and was built almost altogether 
throug-h the efforts of Moreau Brown, Esq., who was so long a 
resident of Nicholasville, and one oi its most successful and 
prominent members, and who died in 1886. 

The present pastor of tliis church is the Rev. \'. T. Willis. 

The Nicholasville Christian Church 

Was organized in the spring of 1828 by Elder George W. Elley. 
Mr. Elley had a religious debate with George W. Sturtivant, a 
young Presbyterian minister and was engaged in the boot and 
shoe business in Nicholasville in 1826, removing from there to 
Lexington in 1829, where for 20 years he was engaged in bus- 
iness and was a leading member of the Christian church. 

The records of this church have been burned, and it is im- 
possible to get all the data concerning its organization. Elder 
Jacob Creath. in a letter written some years ago, says : "Brother 
Campbell and myself went to Kentucky from Guyandotte, 
Western \'irginia, which was in 1828. In Januar}^ 1829, I was 
invited by my deceased uncle, J. E. Creath, Sr., to hold a meeting 
in Nicholasville with Brother William Morton. We held the 
meeting in the Presbyterian meeting house which was located in 
the west end of the town. During the meeting it rained very hard 
all day. I preached from John xx, 30 and 31. 'Many other signs 
truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not writ- 
ten in this book." " 

The first church building of this congregation was erected in 
1830. W^illiam Shreve and John Wallace were chosen elders 
and James Simms and James Sale deacons. William White, 
James Simms and Moses Hawkins were long leading and faithful 
members of the church. The present handsome edifice was erected 
in 1874 and is one of the most comfortable and convenient church 
structures in the city. The congregation has a numerous mem- 
bership and has a most influential position in the county. 



Histori/ of J('!<sa)nine (Jonidij, Kentucky. 1U5 

First Baptist Church. 

This church was organized on the loth of Feljruar}-, 1849, 
by a commission composed of Rev. R. T. Dihard, Joseph R. Bar- 
bee and E. Darnaby. Tliere were only seventeen members then 
present. Stephen P. Waller was chosen clerk and Jonathan Baker 
and E. A. Waller were chosen the tirst deacons. Its first pastor 
was Rev. Thomas J. Drane. It has had a line of distinguished 
ministers through the fifty years of its existence, and, while not 
a verv large congregation, has always been an extremely faithful 
and earnest one. The present pastor is Rev. William D. Now- 
lin. The edifice in which the congregation worships was built in 
the year 1852. 

Ebenezer Church. 

Ebenezer Presbyterian church was organized by the Rev. 
Adam Rankin, somewhere between 1785 and 1790. He came to 
Kentucky from Mrginia in October, 1784. This church is on 
Clear creek close to the town of Troy. Change of roads and 
lines of travel have rendered the location luisuitable. The first 
church Avas built of logs, and the stone church, which was 
ahandoned in 1876, was begun in 1805, and was used continuously 
for nearly a century bv the descendants of the people who or- 
ganized this congregation Among the first members were Wm. 
Evans and wife, Thos. \\'oods and wife, Wm. Garrard and wife, 
Robt. Gwin and wife, Ephraim Tanner and wife, Thos. Read and 
wife. Robt. Black and wife, Jas. Black and wife. Hugh Garrett, 
Robt. Lowrev, ]\Irs. Nancy Drake, and the Lambkins, Beattys, 
Longs, Scanlands, Reamers, Hedges, Phillipses and Logans. 

The descendants of maiiy of chese godly people remain in the 
neighborhood and still support the church of their fathers. One 
of the most useful and honored of all the ministers of Ebenezer 
church \\as Rev. Xeal Gordon, who came from Georgia and sup- 
plied the church for thirty years. He was a most zealous and 
self-denving servant of Christ. His grave is close by the door of 
the old stone church. In this old building are the straight 
benches and the wh.ite ])ainted pulpit which were used for more 
than fiftv vears. Around its deserted walls rests the dust of its 



196 HiMory of JeS'<amine County, Kentucky. 

faithful supporters for one hundred years ; in silence and solitude 
these graves still speak of the faithfulness and consecration of the 
people of this church. 

The members of the Ebenezer and the Clear Creek churches 
tmited in 1870 and formed the Troy Presbyterian church, and 
while Troy church is just over the Woodford line, quite a large 
proportion of its membership resides in Jessamine. Rev. E. O. 
Guerrant, D. D., was called as pastor of the Troy church in 1886. 
He infused new life and energy into the organization. He has 
since resigned the pastorate and taken charge of the church at 
^Vilmore, which by a large increase in membership demands the 
whole time of the pastor. 



Methodist Episcopal Church, South. 

The first church building erected in Nicholasville was by the 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church in 1799. The frame 
clhurch which stood on the same lot some twenty steps from the 
present line building was erected through the labors of the Rev. 
John Metcalf and the Rev. Nathaniel Harris. The house was 
56x36 and had a room for the colored people 30 x 15. 

One of the ablest ministers who preached in this church was 
the Rev. Chas. Watson ; he was a successful and distinguished 
evangelist. Oftentimes at meetings he took occasion to show 
his brethren his ordination certificate which bore the autograph 
of Bishop Asbury. These were considered most valuable me- 
mentoes among the early Methodist people. 

Bishop Asbury laid the foundation of the Methodist church 
in America, and his piety, learning and consecration did much to 
widely spread the doctrines of this denomination. The house 
was dedicated by the Rev. Charles Chenowerth. 

The following letter conveyed the invitation : 

Jessamine county, Kentucky, Sept. 9, 1799. 
Rev. Charles Chenowerth : 

Dear Brother: Our meeting house is completed, and I in- 
vite vou to be with us the second Sunday in October to preach 
the first sermon in the new house. I have written several others 



History of Jexxanune Couidij, Kentucky. 15t7 

to assist in holding" the revival, and am still living on the bank 
of the Kentucky river, and preach every Sunday. 

Yours trttly, 

John Metcalf. 

To which the following response was written : 

Near Harrodshurg, Ky., Sept. 26, 1799. 
Dear Bro. Metcalf: I was handed your letter to-day by 
Bro. Rule, and will inform you that I will come if no unforeseen 
■occasion prevents me from doing so. 

Truly yours in the Gospel of Peace. 

Chas. Chenowerth. 

Rev. John Metcalf was the first minister. He had preached 
in Nicholasville for years before the erection of the church build- 
ing. His preaching was often at the house of Elijah Wallace 
who then lived where Judge Phillips now resides. 

In 1789 Rev. Thomas Williamson succeeded Mr. Metcalf, but 
Mr. jMetcalf returned in 1804. In 1805 Mr. Metcalf moved his 
family to Nicholasville, as also Bethel Academy, which was then 
carried on, on the banks of the Kentucky river. 

In 1821 the distinguished Methodist, H. H. Kavanaugh, after- 
ward bishop, filled the pulpit. In 1846 the old frame church was 
torn down after standing forty-six years, and a new brick house 
was erected, and a few years since the present beautiful and 
•elegant structure was erected on the same ground. Rev. T. W. 
Watts is the minister now in charge. The congregation has al- 
ways been considered one full of faith and good works, and has 
■done efficient service for the cause of God. 

In 1843, there was a great revival in the jMethodist church at 
Nicholasvdle, which was under the conduct of Rev. Rice Harris. 
The following preachers were in attendance: Jonathan Stamp- 
•ers, Benjamin Crouch, Richard Deering, Charles Watson, B. H. 
McCown, Tlios. N. Rawlston, Rev. Mr. Kelly. 

The following letter w-ritten by David Crozer, who was the 
-owner of and was operating Crozer's 'SWW on Jessamine creek, to 
the Hon. Tucker Woodson, gives an account of this meeting: 



198 Hktory of Jesmnilne County, Kentucky. 

"Jessamine county, Ky. 
"Four miles east of Nicholasville, Feb. 13, 1843. 
"Hon. Tucker Woodson : 

"Dear Sir: Your esteemed favor of loth is received, and 
having a little leisure I hasten to answer it. I was not aware of 
the fact stated by you, that the roads 1 named to you were undei 
the control of the local boards. I knew that there was a law ot 
last session, authorizing the state board to take the management 
of all the roads, and had understood that they had generally done 
so. On the subject of the proposed bank. I am greatly at a losb 
to give you my opinion, and can not exactly see and appreciate 
your present position on this, only 1 know that you were elected 
as opposed to relief measures. I am greatly astonished at the 
news this morning from Nicholasville. There is a great revival 
going on at the Methodist church ; more than thirty have been 
added to the church. Among the converts are Thomas H. Bal- 
lard, Stephen Spragens, Moreau Brown. Mrs. Keene, Mrs. Wil- 
more (wife of T. D. VVilmore), Jacob Wilmore, Jr., Sandy Wake, 
James Buskett and Wm. B. Payne. The Rev. Rice Harris was 
greatly assisted in this meeting by his brethren from other cir- 
cuits. 

''We must ourselves watch and avoid the careless side of life. 
"Your friend, 

"D. Crozer." 

Mr. Crozer was mistaken as to Judge Wake. He never joined 
the Methodist church. 

African Methodist Episcopal Church. 

This church is situated on East street in Nicholasville, and 
was organized September 15, 1845, by Rev. Samuel ]\Hller, who 
then erected the first house of worship that this congregation 
ever had. The i^resent beautiful structure was built through the 
labors of Rev. James Turner. This church has a very active 
membership and a large, successful Sunday-school, which exerts 
a fine influence throughout the members of the church. The 
minutes show that it is one of the most liberal of the colored 
churches, and that in thirty years it has contributed to benevolent 



m.^ori/ of Je>i>^amlne Conniij, Ki'idiickij. 109 

objects about $18,000. Its membership inckules a very large list 
of names. It present pastor is Rev. P. A. Nicholas, a native of 
Harrison coiintv, Kv. 



Colored Christian Church. 

One of the handsomest colored churches in the county or 
state, is the Colored Christian Church, Nicholasville, which was 
erected in 1843 ^^^^^ ^or several years used as a house of wor- 
ship, being- then known as the Union Church, where all the 
colored people from time to time held their services. It was not 
until the year 1867 that the officers of the church bought the 
l^nion Church and became a separate organization. The pres- 
ent pastor, the Rev. \V. H. Dickinson, came to the congregation 
on the first of Septeml:)er. 1896. He is a native of Virginia. The 
church building now in use was erected in 1890. It has a large 
membership and is one of the most prosperotis of the colored 
churches in Central Kcntuckv. 



Colored Baptist Church. 

The first colored llaptist church in Xicholasville was organ- 
ized in 1846. ]"ew of its records have been preserved. Rev. 
Robert Irvin was the first pastor, who remained in the church 
fcur years. The present membership is 356. It has been pros- 
perous and particularly so under the ministrations of its present 
pastor, Re^ . John A\'illiam Clark. 



200 Hidonj of Jessamine Gotinty, Kenlnchj. 

Biographical Sketches of Prominent Citi- 
zens of Jessamine County* 



James Irvin. 

The last Revolutionary soldier to die in Jessamine county 
was James Irvin. He was born in Alecklenburg county, Va., 
in 1754, and died in Jessamine county in 1851, at ninety-seven 
years. He served seven years in the Revolutionary war and was 
badly wounded at the Battle of Guilford Court House, March 15, 
1781 . He was shot in the left hip. He came to Jessamine count}- 
in 1793 and raised a large family of daughters who all lived to be 
over eighty-seven years of age. 

He is the only Revolutionary soldier who very many of the 
people in Jessamine county ever saw. When Gen. William O. 
Butler was a Democratic candidate for Governor of Kentucky in 
1844, James Irvin and four other Revolutionary veterans rode in 
the carriage with General Butler from the place of Mr. John 
Butler, on Jessamine creek, on the Danville pike, to Nicholasville, 
where General Butler was to speak, in the field adjoining the 
colored cemetery, close to the line of the R., N., I. c: B. R. R. 

\Mien Irvin was wounded in battle he was left at the house of 
the father of William A. Graham, the distinguished politician 
of North Carolina, and Secretary of the Xavy under Millard 
Fillmore. While sick he cut his initials on a stone and the date 
of his wounding and brought this stone with him to Kentucky 
when he emigrated to the state. He lived on the place now 
owned by Mr. Dean, near Sulphur Well, and was buried in the 
Hickman neighborhood. 



Frederick Zimmerman. 

r)ne of the strong characters in the early history of Jessaimine 
county was Frederick Zimmerman, its first surveyor. His ances- 
tors came from Salzwedel, Germany. His forefathers emigrated 



Hlxtovij of Je^^am'ine Countij, Kentucky. 201 

to Xew York. After a passage of six weeks over the Atlantic 
they settled on the Hudson river, at the village of Rheinbeck, in 
Dutchess county. Remaining in Xew York four months two 
brothers settled in Culpeper county, Mrginia, where was born 
Frederick Zimmerman. He moved to Jessamine county prior 
to 1792, and lived in the Marble creek district. He married Judith 
IJourne, daughter of Henry Bourne. His work in the surveys of 
Jessamine county shows that he w^as a coaiipetent and faithful offi- 
cial. His sons and daughters have been indu'strilous, upright citizens 
and have performed well the duties devolved upon them. John 
Zimmerman, Daniel Zimmerman, Augustus Zimmerman and 
Morton Zimmerman, long and favorably known in the county, 
were sons of Frederick Zimmerman. A numerous posterity still 
reside in the county which their ancestor helped to redeem from 
the savages, and in the earlier history of which he was a strong 
and influential factor. 

Francis Phipps 

^^'as born on the 21st of October, 1751, and was for a long time 
a resident of Jessamine county. He was engaged in surveying 
the Lexington and Danville pike, by Col. W. R. McKee in 1829- 
30. He resided at ]\Ir. Thos. Scott's house for several years, 
at which place the letter, copied below, was found. References 
are made to Rev. John Price, who, afterwards, came to Jessamine 
countv. and was long a Baptist minister in this locality, and the 
letter is otherwise full of interesting matter : 

In IMess, No. 10, Colonel Hamilton's Regiment, Little York, 12 
miles from Williamsburg, Oct. 21st. 1781. 

]\rv Dear Parents: I have only time to inform you that the 
British army, under old Cornwallis. surrendered to General 
Washington on the 19th. Capt. Charles Johnston, who will 
leave for Mecklenburg to-morrow, w-ill give you full particulars 
of this great and glorious achievement. 

On the 25th of September our army, led by the beloved Wash- 
ington, reached the headquarters of General La Fayette, at W^il- 
hamsburg, and on the 30th, our army marched in a body to attack 
York and Gloucester. On the 7th of October, Washington 
opened the attack on Cornwallis with 100 pieces of cannon. It 



202 H'ldonj of Je!<!i(nniyie County^ Keiduchj. 

was a most beautiful sight to see our bomb-shells bursting in the 
midst of the enemy, tearing down whole companies of our ene- 
mies — as we could see them from the high ground near the river. 
During the siege, which lasted 17 days, two strong redoubts were 
stormed by our regiment, led by Col. Hamilton. We were as- 
sisted in the charge by the French. When within a few yards of 
the redoubt. Col. Hamilton rode up to the regiment, and said in 
a voice like the bursting of a shell: "Charge those men, my brave 
comrades, who wish to make slaves of our people." W^e rushed 
at them with a loud shout, and captured over two hundred — kill- 
ing and wounding- aibout fifty. We lost about seventy-five of as 
brave men as ever pulled a trigger at an enemy of our liberty. 
Oin- French soldiers lost as many as we did. It would have done 
the heart of every lover of li1:)erty good to have seen the red-coated 
rascals surrender to our army on the 19th — old Cornwallis and his 
army — numbering 8,coo muskets ; I counted fifty brass and one 
hundred and sixty iron cannon. 

At about 12 o'clock our army was drawn up in two lines, ex- 
tending more than a mile in length. Our French fellow-soldiers 
were placed on our left and h.eaded by tlieir General. At the head 
of our ragged, but brave soldiers, I saw the nol^le Washington, on 
his horse, looking calm and cool as he was when crossing the 
Delaware river a few vears 1)efore. Alanv of the rustic people 
of this part of \'irginia, consisting of old men, women and chil- 
dren, assembled in numbers ecjual to the military, to witness the 
surrender of the old murderer, Cornwallis. Every face beamed 
with joy and gladness — but a profound silence prevailed ; no talk- 
ing, no noise of any kind, save the slow, measured step of our 
enemies, was heard. General Tarleton's troops at Gloucester 
surrendered at the same time to our French soldiers. Everything 
was done in a quiet manner. 

After the surrender, I saw our beloved Washington and Col- 
onel Hamilton talking with all the British oiificers. Old Corn- 
wallis and Tarleton were very polite to our officers, and it was a 
surprise to see old Cornwallis treating our beloved commander 
and Colonel Hamilton with so much consideration'. Cornw^allis 
is a large man, with dark l)rown hair, a ruddy face, good nose and 
has tlie appearance of a man of kind heart and good intentions. 
General Tarleton is also a lar^x man, Imt not so l)ig as old Corn- 



Hi4or(/ of Jes-Moiihie Coioifi/, Krntnckij. 20!> 

wallis. His countenance is hard and tyrannical; and his mean, 
dark eves are full of cruelty. Some few of the Carolinians saw 
him after the surrender was over, and cursed him as he passed up 
the road on liis way to the ship that was to take the British to 
Xew York. \\'hen the boys cursed him he never made any re- 
plv, but rode away, showing- no high temper, that he was known 
to have by some Carolinians who remembered his cruelties in 
South Carolina. 

The Rev. John Price preached for the soldiers on Sunday last. 
His sermon was listened to by many officers, such as General 
Lincoln, Cols. Henry Lee, Hamilton and Woodford. My health 
is good, and my wound in the arm is well. I can not tell you 
where to send me a letter, as I have no means of knowing- where 
our regiment is ordered to. Some say we are to go to New York, 
and the rumor is that we are to remain in Mrginia. or at the town 
of Trenton, in "the Jersies." Present my love to niy youngest 
sister, also to Air. Watkins and family, and tell Mr. Watkins his 
son is truly a self-denying soldier, one who loves his country and 
is willing, if need be, to die in her defense. Pray for me that I 
ma\' be spared to see }"ou once more alive. 

Your loving son, 

Francis Phipps. 

Gen. Henry M. Chrisman. 

General Chrisman, \\ho received his title from the militia 
service, was the youngest son of Hugh Chrisman and was born 
in the old stone house on the Hickman creek in 1800, and died 
in Nicholasville, in 1876. His mother was a McKinney, and his 
grandmother was a sister of Jas. McDowell who was in a cdui- 
]>anv of Colonel r3udley"s regiment in the war of 1812. 

( )ne of the most pleasant traits of General Chrisman's char- 
acter was his hospitality clothed with kindness and benevolence. 
He was foTid of company and his house was thronged with young 
and old friends, and they made that ]:)art of Jessamine happy by 
their constant courtesies to their neighbors. His wife died in 
1852, he in 1876, and the_\- arc buried on the clifTs near the old 
stone 1)uilding. This house was put up by Thomas Metcalf, who 
was known as "the old stone hammer" governor, for which posi- 



204 Hldonj of Je><samme County, Kentucky. 

tion he offered himself twenty-eight years afterward, when he was 
elected, defeating Maj. Wm. T. Barry by a majority of only 709. 
It is related of Governor Metcalf that at one time, when working 
at Chaumiere, he was invited to take dinner with David Meade, 
but he declined upon the ground that Mr. Aleade had not asked 
his hands to dine with him. Colonel Meade then predicted that 
the stone mason would become governor of Kentucky, and he 
lived long enough to see this prophecy verified. 

Peter Simpson 

Was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1758. 
He served two years in the Revolutionary war under General 
AVaA^ne, was in several battles and skirmis'hes in New York and 
New Jersey, and at the battle of Monmouth was slightly v;c uided. 
He was visiting Jessamine county in 1794, and was present at 
Colonel Price's Fourth of July celebration that year. He re- 
turned to Virginia, and in 1802 removed from the valley in Vir- 
ginia and settled in the Marble creek neighborhood, where he 
lived until his death in 1835. 

Col. John McKinney 

AA'as one of South Carolina's contributions to Jessamine county. 
He was born on the Pedee river, South Carolina, in 1756. and 
served in the Revolutionary war, first under General Patterson, 
and also under Gen. Francis Marion, Colonel Sumter, and Gen. 
Flarry Lee. 

He first settled on what is known as the Butler farm, in 1790, 
and that year lie erected a log house on that place which was only 
torn down a few years ago, and in this house most of his children 
were born. His daughter, Mrs. Sallie Cloke, who died in Ver- 
sailles some )'ears ago, at an advanced age, was born on this farm 
in T704, while Mrs. Catherine Brown, wife of George I., was 
born in 1802. 

Colonel McKinney was a gentleman of the old school, an 
enterprising farmer and a patriotic citizen. He removed to 
Woodford county, where he spent the remaining years of his life, 
and died at an advanced aee. 



Hidortj of JeAmmhie Count ij, Kcnfiirkif. 205 

Col. John Mosely. 

This gentleman was born in Buckingham county, Virginia, 
in 1760, and settled in Jessamine in 1793. He served in the 
Revolutionary war, and was a gallant soldier. He enjoyed the 
distinction of having reared the largest family every known in 
Jessamine — he had three daughters and eighteen sons. He was 
extremely popular in his neighborhood, and his descendants in 
Jessamine are very numerous and still live in the inmiediate 
neighborhood where their brave and prolific ancestor settled. 

Com. Daniel Boone Ridgeley. 

Com. D. B. Ridgeley, who served with distinction in the 
United States navy, was born in Jessamine county on the 30th of 
August, 1813, and died in Philadelphia, May 5, 1868. 

He entered the navy as midshipman April i, 1828. He par- 
ticipated in the bombardment and capture of Vera Cruz and 
other ^Mexican ports, and was connected with the Naval Observa- 
tory at Washington in 1850-52. He conunanded the steamer 
"Atlanta" in the Paraguayan expedition. He volunteered for 
active service in the Civil war, and commanded the steamer "San- 
tiago de Cuba." He conmianded a steamer in the Xorth Atlantic 
squadron, and assisted in the bombardment of Fort Fisher, North 
Carolina. He was a member of the Board of Naval Examiners 
at IMiiladelphia, in 1868, at the time of his death. His mother was 
a daughter of Col. John Price, who was chiefly instrumental in 
organizing Jessamine county, and was born on the farm of his 
grandfather in the Hickman neighborhood. He purchased the 
McKinney farm in Jessamine in 1850. and passed his vacations 
there. He always spoke with great pride of his native countv, 
and held the old home place as a sentimental investment. 

John Speed Smith 

Was born on the Caspar Harbaugh place. Jessamine countv, 
Julv 31, 1792. He esrved with distinction in the War of 1812 — 
was at the battle of Tippecanoe, and was Aide to General Har- 
rison at the battle of the Thames. 



20(1 Hidorij of Je^^miniiif Count tj, Keiduchij. 

He removed to Madison county in his early manhood, where 
he l:»ecame a distinguished lawyer. He represented Madison 
county in the legislature in 1819, 'zj, "30. "3(), "41, and '45, and the 
Senate in 1846 and '50. He was speaker of the House of Rep- 
resentatives in 1827. He was a member of Congress in 1821-23, 
and was Secretary to the Legation of the United States Commis- 
sioners sent to the South American colonies. Jackson appointed 
him United States District Attorne_v for Kentucky. In 1839 he 
was made joint Commissioner with Gov. Jas. T. Morehead to 
visit the ( )hio legislature to secure the passage of laws to pre- 
vent the enticement of slaves and to provide a more efficient 
means of returning slaves who had escaped ; the Commissioners 
v.-ere successful in this work. 

For several years prior to his death he was State Superin- 
tendent of Public Works, and through his life was one of the 
most prominent and popular men in Kentucky. 

William T. Barry 

Was one of the most brilliant and eloquent men wlio 
made Kentucky so famous in the first thirty years of its ex- 
istence. He was in his childhood a resident of Jessamine countv. 
Born in Mrginia in 1783, he came, with his father, when a child 
to Kentucky, and lived for a short while in Fayette, and theri 
moved to Jessamine county, where he lived several years, when 
the family returned to Lexington. After attending school at the 
AV'oodford Academy he graduated i.t Transylvania University and 
commenced the practice of law when twenty-one years of age. in 
Lexington. 

From 1805 to 1835, his life was a wonderful series of successes. 
Fortune appeared to lavish upon him all of its choicest blessings. 

He was, very early in his professional career, appointed At- 
torney for the Commonwealth in Fayette county. His learning, 
elocpience and industry at once gave him both popularity and 
prominence. He was elected to fill a vacancy in the Legislature 
from Fayette in 1807. He was again elected in 1809; chosen to 
represent the Ashland district in Congress in 1810, he was again 
elected representative in the Legislature in 1814. In the dis- 
cussion of the matters which led up to the War of 1812, no man 



Hidory of Je!'!«()u'nie County, Kcitiiickij. 207 

was more eloquent, earnest or wise, and by his l)rilliant, patriotic 
speeches he won the admiration and confidence of ah parties. In 
the war he exhibited a hig'h degree of courage and gallantry whnc 
serving on the statT of Cjovernor Shelby, who, disregarding pre- 
cedents, took the field as the Commander-in-Chief of the Ken- 
tucky forces. He was in the battle of the Thames, which added 
such splendid lustre and renown to Kentucky and her soldiers. 

He became Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representa- 
ti\es in J 814, and was elected to the Cnited States Senate while 
holding that place. He represented Kentucky in the Senate for 
two sessions, and then resigned to accept the Circuit Judgeship 
upon a meager salary. In 1817, he was forced to stand as a can- 
didate for the State Senate, and it was his magnetic power and 
influence wdiich enabled him while in the Kentucky Senate, to 
secure large aid to Transylvania L'niversity and afterwards he 
became a lecturer in the Law Department. His name gave the 
Taw School prestige and magnificent sticcess. In 1820 he was 
elected Tieutenant Governor by an overwhelming majority of 
T 1,000 votes in a total of 55.000, and at this time was unquestion- 
ablv the most popular man in Kentucky. 

Henry Clay, in 1825. accepted the place of Secretary of State 
and identified himself with the Adams administration. This cost 
]\ir. Clay many friends in Kentucky, where the recollection of 
Xew England's opposition to the admission of Kentucky into the 
Union, had left great prejudice against it. Barry sided with those 
opposed to Air. Clay. 

!Mr. Barry was appointed Chief Justice of "The Xew Court" in 
January, 1825. and held the place until a repeal of the X'ew Court 
.-Vet, in 1826. He was a candidate for Governor in 1828, and was 
defeated by only yoq votes, but his wonderful canvass and superb 
eloquence caused tne state in the following year to cast its vote 
for Andrew Jackson, by a majority of 7,934. Mr. Barry was ap- 
pointed Postmaster General by Jackson, and held the office until 
declining health forced him to surrender it. 

In the hope that a change in location and a milder climate 
might restore his health, the President nominated Mr. Barry to 
be Minister to Spain. He sailed for his post, but died at Liver- 
pool, England, in 1835. 

Xineteen years later (18541. by an act of the Legislature, the 



208 History of Jesmmine County, Kentucky. 

remains of Mr. Barr\^ were disinterred, broug-ht to Kentucky aiid 
buried in the state lot, at Frankfort. His friends erected a mon- 
ument to his memory in the court house yard in Lexington. 

Theodore O'Hara, the brilhant poet, dehvered an oration 
upon this occasion (Nov. 8, 1854), concluding with these thrilHng 
words : 

"Let the marble like a minstrel rise to sing to the future genera- 
tions of the Commonwealth, the inspiring lay Oif ihis big-h genius 
and lofty deeds. Let the autumn wind harp on the dropping 
leaves, her softest requiem over him. Let the winter's purest 
snow rest spotless on his grave. Let spring entwine her brightest 
garland for his tomb, and summer gild it with her mildest sun- 
shine, and let him sleep embalmed in glory till the last trump 
shall reveal him to us, all radiant with the halo of his life." 

Jessamine, as the scene of his earliest youth, claims a part in 
the history of this child of most auspicious fate, whose career, for 
splendid achievement, superb eloquence, courageous contest, un- 
varying success, unchanging popularity, and wondrous influence 
has no equal in the past of Kentucky and will have none in its 
future. 

Rev, John Metcalf. 

To Rev. John Metcalf belongs the honor of laying ofi the 
county seat of Jessamine, and also of naming the town. He was 
a native of Southampton county, Virginia, and came to Kentucky 
in the spring of 1790, bringing with him not only his credentials 
as a minister, but also a heart full of love to God. Bethel Acad- 
emy was established in 1790, and was opened for the reception 
of pupils in January, 1794. It was the second institution of learn- 
ing ever established by the Methodist church in the United States, 
tlie one at Cokesburg being the first. The labors of Mr. ^letcalf 
were confined largely to Jessamine county. He traveled a few 
circuits in Fayette and Mercer, but his life work was connected 
with Jessamine. He took charge of Bethel Academy at the re- 
quest of Bishop Asbury. He began his work as founder and con- 
tinued his lal>ors there as the principal of this school in the "wilder- 
ness." He infused his own earnest and enthusiastic spirit into 
the institution. He labored under tremendous dis-advantasfes in 



Hidori/ of Jcsamlne County, Kfnitncktj. 209 

his work, but he overcame most of them, and brought success 
where other men would have had only failure. 

He was the first Methodist minister who ever preached a 
sermon in Lexington. Pastoral work in those days was done un- 
der great difficulties, traveling on horseback through the traces 
with no weil-defined roads, and hunting up the pioneers in their 
cabins, and far removed from neighbors in their loneliness and 
their surrounding dangers, this man of (iod was ever ready to 
discharge his duties. He was compelled to ride through the 
canebrakes and woods and pathless forests, but he had the spirit 
of his Master, and he never faltered in the work \vthich the Head 
of the Church had given him to do. In his studies, in his pastoral 
work and at the head of the school, he found enough in those 
days to occupy the heart and hands of any man. Plain, practical 
and earnest, he attracted attention and won hearts, and he gen- 
erally drew large crowds of people, who w^ere glad to hear him. 
He was largely instrumental in building up the Methodist church 
in Jessamine county. He was born in 1758 and died at his home 
in Nicholasville, in 1820, having reached his 6Tst year. It was 
through his laibors that the white frame Methodist church, was 
first erected in Nicholasville, in 1799. 

Rev, Nathaniel Harris, 

Few men have ever been better known in Jessamine county 
than Rev. Nathaniel Harris. He was born in Powhattan county. 
\"a., in 1759, of Presbyterian parentage. Being an only son, he 
was indulged in many things, which in the end proved hurtful. 
His intercourse with what were then known as the gentlemen of 
the day, caused him to become both profane and wicked. 

Shortly after his father removed from the old home place he 
became a volunteer in the American army, and was in the battle 
of Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina. 

He w'as converted in August, 1783, and joined the Methodist 
church, and the conviction forced itself upon his mind that he w^as 
called to preach. He settled in Jessamine county in 1790, and he 
was principal of the English department in the Piethel Academy. 

He preached in the various towns in Central Kentucky, and in 
administering to the affiicted and the sick none ever excelled him. 
14 



210 Hidorij of Jemmnine County, Kentucky. 

At marriages and funerals his presence was always sought, be- 
cause of his tender sympathy and because of tlie love and con- 
fidence manifested towards him. He founded several Methodist 
churches in Jessamine county. 

The last years of his Hfe were spent in \"ersailles, where he 
purchased a home for himself and his two maiden daughters. He 
died on the i2th day of August, 1849, lacking only a few days of 
ninety years of age. He had been in the Methodist ministry for 
more than sixty years. On the 26th of August. 1843, he entered 
m his journal, "1 am this day eighty-four years old. 1 stand to 
mv engagement to be holy for the Lord." 

The records which contain the certificates of the earlier mar- 
riages in Jessamine county, show that his services for these cer- 
emonies were largely in demand. On the 14th of ^larch, 1799, 
he married Jesse Hughes and Nancy Nicholson, and a very large 
proportion of the carlv marriages celebrated in the county were 
solenmized by him. He was a faithful, earnest, devout man of 
God. Some might call his sphere humble, but his influence on 
the religious and moral condition of Jessamine county will long 
be fdt. and in it he has a monument, which should be both to his 
church and to those of his name, a cause of unfailing pride. 

Samuel H. Woodson. 

Samuel H. Woodson was a step-son of Col. Joseph Crockett. 
A\'hile in the military service in Albemarle county, A'irginia, and 
guarding prisoners which had l)ecn surrendered by r)Urgoyne, 
Colonel Crockett protected the property of Mr. and Mrs. Tuckei 
Woodson. There resulted from this circumstance a warm at- 
tachment lietween Mr. Woodson and ?\Irs. Woodson and the 
young officer. Shortly after Colonel Crockett had l)een ordered 
to come west and serve under George Rogers Clark, in command 
of the Illinois or Crockett Regiment, which had been dispatched 
by the state of Virginia to assist Clark in his contest with the In- 
dians, Tucker Woodson died, and after Colonel Crockett returned 
from the West he fell in love with the handsome young widow 
and married her. 

After this marriage, in 1783. Colonel Crocket came 
to Kentuck\- and soon brought his family here, in 1784. and witli 



Iiixtort/ of Je^mmine Coiintij, Kentucki/. 



211 



him came out Samuel H. Woodson, his step-son. Colonel 
Crockett gave him a father's love, aft'ection and attention. He 
Avas prepared for the law and had every advantage the educational 
facilities of Kentucky then could ofifer. 

lie entered for his step-son about a thousand acres of land, 
part of which is that now owned by Air. Jesse Bryant, on the pike 
between Xicholasville and Lexington. 




He read law with Col. deorge Xiclioias and named one of his 
sons for Judge Nicholas. At the time of the formation of Jessa- 
mine countA' he was chosen clerk for the comity. As he held his 
office for life, it was considered a distinguished place. He built 
the house on the .Sheeley place, about one mile from Xicholasville 
on the Danville turnpike, and ke])t his office as clerk there. 
There were no countA" buildings in tliose days and the judges and 
clerks used tlieir residences for the discharire of their official 



212 History of Jesmmine Conntt/, Kentuekij. 

duties. He married Annie Randolph ^Nleade, a daughter of Col. 
David Meade, of Chaumiere. 

He resigned the clerkship in 1819 and was succeeded by 
Daniel B. Price. He was elected to congress from the district, 
and moved to Frankfort in 1826. He came, in 1827, to attend 
circuit court in Nicholasville and rode, in very warm weather, on 
horseback from Frankfort to Nicholasville. During the term of 
court he went out to Chaumiere, was taken suddenly ill and died, 
in the forty-seventh year of his age. He was a man of great cul- 
ture, superb integrity, nuich learning, and in his day was one of 
the distinguished men of Kentucky. He left a large family, and 
the people, not only of his district but of Jessamine and Franklin, 
his adopted home, mourned his early death. He represented 
Jessamine county in the legislature from 1819 to 1825. 

Maj. Daniel B. Price. 

Alaj. Daniel B. Price was born in Powhattan county, Virginia, 
the nth day of May. 1789. His father, John Price, removed to 
Kentucky in 1794, taking with him Daniel, his only son, and pur- 
chased 1,200 acres of land in Bourbon county. The title proving 
defective, he afterwards removed to Clark county, where he 
lived to the extreme old age of ninety years. 

When a boy. Major Price came to Nicholasville and was ap- 
pointed deputy clerk for Samuel H. W^oodson, and when Mr. 
Woodson resigned, in 1816, he succeeded him and held the office,, 
giving entire satisfaction until 1851, a period of thirty-five years, 
which is the longest period any one office was ever held by the 
same man in the county. 

In 181 3 he married Eliza Crockett, the fourth child of CoL 
Joseph Crockett, who died during a cholera epidemic in 1832. 
He subsequently married Miss .Stuart, daughter of Rev. Robert 
Stuart. 

He was a member of the Presbyterian church in Nicholasville 
and for half a century a ruling elder. He was also a trustee of 
Center College and one of the directors of the Theological Sem- 
inary at Danville. Dr. Robert J. Breckinridge said of him: 
''Probably no citizen of Jessamine county was ever more gener- 
ally and favorably known, and certainly no one was ever more 



Hidory of Jexsamine CoKutt/, Kentiiekij. 



213 



thoroughl}- respected. A man resolute for God's saving truth in 
proportion as his meek and gentle spirit, he lived upon it as his 
life and soul." 

He won and retained the respect and confidence of the entire 




connnunity. He was looked up to as a man of splendid judg- 
ment and unswerving integrity. Xoble memories of his life and 
character survive after a lapse of nearly forty years. 



Tucker Woodson. 

At Chaumiere. in Jessamine county, in 1804, Tucker Woodson 
was born, ft is a remarkable fact that he and his wife were born 
in the same house and in the same room. His wife was Evelyn 
Byrd, and she was a daughter of Sarah Meade, daughter of David 
Meade. He and his wife were both possessed of ample fortune. 



214 Hidory of Je.-<mmiiie Countij, KentKokif. 

They received the best education that Kentucky could give. He 
chose the law as his profession but spent most of his life in care 
of his landed estates. He was a born politician, a man of the 
highest refinement of feeling', of the strictest integrity, the kindest 
heart and charming manners. He was a great Whig and a fol- 
lower of Mr. Clay. He represented Jessamine county in the 
legislature in 1835, '36. 'T,y and '40. Was also in the senate in 
1842-46 and 1853-7. 

He was always popular among his neighbors and friends and 
even his political opponents loved him. Of disting-uished linea^^e, 
he was always the friend of the humbler people. He owned land 
in what was then known as the Plaquemine District which in- 
cluded Sulphur Well, now Ambrose. This was considered in 
earlv davs the roughest district in the county, but it was there 
that Mr. Woodson had his warmest friends. . 

In the great race for Congress between John C. Breckinridge 
and Robert P. Letcher,' in 1853. in ^vhich Breckinridge was 
elected by 526 majority, Mr. Woodson had charge of the Plaque- 
mine District, and for a long time it was remembered in Jessa- 
mine county how shrewdly and beautifully he played his op- 
ponents. A leading Democrat had been sent by Major 1 Breckin- 
ridge to handle the money and control the votes in the Plaque- 
mine District. In those days pecuniary inducements paid to 
voters were not looked upon in the same light in which they are 
now regarded. The idea that all things were fair in politics and 
war pervaded the public mind and the purchase of votes was 
carried on with a good deal of publicity and without an\- reproach 
or disapproval on the part of political opponents. 

The Democratic manager had been provided with a large 
numl)e ">* new bills issued by the Northern liank of Kentucky. 
They v. er^ iTves and tens, for even in those days good prices were 
paid for vutes, and especially in this election, which called forth 
the highest enthusiasm and the greatest devotion of the rank and 
iile on both sides. Mr. Woodson saw with dismay the large 
amount of new notes which were being circulated by his ]iolitical 
opponents, ancl he turned over in his mind a plan by which the 
effect of this new mone}- could be avoided. 1'aking one of the 
men aside whom he knew very well, and who had received al- 
ready one O'f these new bills, he asked hiim if he was sure th.at it 




TUCKER WOODSON. 



m.-'tori/ofjc^xaiiiliif (nmifi/, Kiiitiicki/. 215 

was g-ood; saying-, what was true, that there had l)een circulated 
a large number of counterfeit hills lately and that if he and his 
friends were taking money from the 1 )emocratic manager, Mr, 
Scott, they had better be very careful as to its genuineness. At 
the same time he pulled from his own pocket a roll of well-worn 
and old-time bills and placing the new and old bills side by side, 
commented upon some differences. The news spread like wild- 
fire that the new bills were counterfeit and the tioaters refused to 
receive them and turned in disgust from the Democratic manager, 
who only had new bills, and would receive nothing but the old 
time Whig money, which Mr. Woodson and his friends were 
ready, under proper conditions, to distribute. 

A strong pro-slavery man, he sided with the government in 
the Civil war. but it was conceded on all hands that he acted from 
conviction, and few men of his prominence and of his activity 
escaped with so small a number of enemies. 

Tn 1872 he was elected county judge on the Republican ticket 
and died in 1874. Hospitable, courteous, cultivated, honest, 
])atriotic and true, he left behind him <i large arrav of friends who 
mourned his death. 

His home was always open t(^ friends and strangers alike. 
Gifted in conversation, a capable raconteur, and full of the 
purest and gentlest kindness, he won the hearts of all who came 
under his roof. His wife, one of the housekeepers of those times 
which made Kentucky housekeeping renowned in all the civilized 
world, sympathized with the hospitable instincts of her husband, 
an.d united with him to make his home always pleasing and attract- 
i\ e. Some of the rich treasures of Chaumiere had descended to 
them o.nd these, enlarged by contributions from other relatives and 
ancestors, gave their home a charm which will never be forgotten 
by those who entered its portals. For thirty years Judge Wood- 
son and his familv entertained more and more delightfullv than 
any citizen of Jessamine cotmty, and no couple ever left more 
delic'htful memories c.f real Kentuckv home life than thev. 



Chaumiere. 

In 1796 there was established in Jessamine county one of the 
most beautiful and attractive countrv homes in America. Tt was 



216 Hidory of Je.isamine County, KentKcki/. 

founded by David Meade, who was born in Virginia on the 29th 
of July, 1743. At seven years oi age he was sent to England \vith 
the hope that change of climate might improve his health and 
also for the purpose of furnishing better means of education than 
were then in existence in America. 

Here he remained until 1761, wdien he returned to his native 
land. He had acquired only a general knowledge of mathemat- 
ics, geography, French, grammar and drawing, but he had cul- 
tivated science and the elegant arts. 

He had two brothers, younger than himself, both of whom 
afterwards became distinguished in the American army. Richard 
Kidder, an aid de camp to General Washington, and who had 
charge of the details of the execution of Major Andre, and Ever- 
ard, who was an aid de camp to General Lincoln, and he himself 
was subsequently raised to the rank of General. 

In his twenty-fourth year he married Sarah Waters, a daugh- 
ter of Mr. William Waters, of Williamsburg, Virginia, and in 1769 
he was elected to represent Nansemond county in the House of 
Burgesses. This was his first and only political experience. 
This assembly was dissolved by the representative of the crown 
on account of certain resolutions which it had passed upon the 
subject of the disagreement between England and the colonies. 

Prior to 1796 David Meaide, a son of the founder of Chaumiere, 
came to Kentucky. He was attracted by the splendid climate, 
fertile soil, wonderful forests and charming surroundings, and in- 
duced his father to leave a beautiful home in \''irginia. on the 
James river, and come to the wilds of Kentucky. He was capti- 
vated by the glowing description of the new land given by his son, 
and, though accustomed to all that wealth and culture could give, 
he was willing to abandon the comforts and the associations of his 
Virginia home and build him a new one amid the forests of Ken- 
tucky. 

David Meade was a man of large fortune. Under the laws of 
primogeniture, then prevailing in Virginia, he inherited the major 
share of his father's estate, and his wife also brought him no in- 
considerable dowry. He came to Kentucky in 1796 and debated 
for some time whether he would settle on the forks of Elkhorn, in 
Franklin county, or in Jessamine county, but through his personal 
reo-ard for Col. Joseph Crockett, who had come to Kentucky in 



Hidorij of Jes^mmlne County, Kenttickij. 217 

1784, and settled in Jessamine county, in 1787, he was induced 
to choose Jessamine as his future home. 

He purchased about three hundred acres of land from the 
Crocketts and Woodsons. This land is four miles from Nich- 
olasville, on the turnpike which connects the Lexington and 
Danville, and the Harrodsburg and Lexington turnpikes, and is 
now owned m large part by Mr. John Steel. The beautiful forest 
trees attracted his admiration and won his aiifections. Sugar 
trees, poplar, ash, oak, hackberry and walnut, all growing in 
most superb profusion, determined his choice of residence. He had 
large tracts of land in other parts of Kentucky. 

He founded at this locality a home, called Chaumiere des 
Prairies, but it was familiarly known throughout the country as 
Chaumiere, which is the French for Indian \'illage. On this 
small place David Meade lavished vast sums of money. He had 
all the tastes of an educated and refined Englishman. Whatever 
could have induced such a man w^ith such a fortune to have come 
down the Ohio river in a tlatboat, and land at Maysville and suffer 
tlie inconvenience of travel and transportation from Nicholas- 
ville to Jessamine county, and to live in such a remote and unim 
proved district, is almost impossible to understand. 

He laid out a hundred acres of Chaumiere into a beautiful 
garden. He imported rare and exquisite plants. He made 
lakes, constructed water falls, shaped islands, built summer houses 
and porters' lodges, and in this backwoods wilderness created 
an ideal Englishman's home. He had a large retinue of liveried 
servants, splendid coaches, magnificent furniture, service largely 
of silver, and maintained in every way the style of a feudal lord. 

The house was one-story, built of various materials, stone, 
bricl-: and wood, but all erected for comfort and for convenience. 
Here David Meade lived from 1796 to 1832. During his thirty- 
six years of residence in Jessamine county he made no change 
in his method or manner of living. His service, his carriages, 
his liveries, fashion of entertainment, his own personal dress and 
that of his ^vife, always elegant, were still maintained in true 
English style. Different from everybody else in Kentucky in 
his style of living, he never excited the envy of his less wealtin- or 
less cultured neighbors. The hospitality and elegance of his 
home were the boast of Kentucky. No distinguished man evei 



218 Hlxioni of Jexxumhif (iuudij, Kfiititckii. 

came to the state who did not express a desire to see this wonder- 
ful place, and none were ever disappointed in receiving" a cordial 
invitation for the enjoyment of its hospitality. 

Xo other home in Kentucky ever entertained so many Presi- 
dents, for at various times the roof of Chaumiere covered Monroe, 
General Jackson, General Charles Scott, and General Tay- 
lor. All the distinguished families of Kentucky were invited 
and always welcomed within its borders. Henry Clay was a 
constant visitor at this delightful residence, and a very funny 
story is told of the politeness of Mr. Clay and Mr. Meade. Mr. 
Clay had come to spend the night at Chaumiere. Mr. Meade was 
too polite to suggest to Mr. Clay that it was time to retire, and 
Mr. Clay was too polite to tell Mr. Meade that he desired to retire, 
and so they sat up and talked all night. 

Aaron l*>urr often visited Chaumiere. He was there again 
and again with Klennerhasset, and there is in possession of a 
meml)er of the family a mirror before which Aaron Burr sat and 
had his hair powdered. After the arrest of Aaron Burr he was 
permitted to remain in custody at Chaundere. and Col. Meade's 
son acted as chief of the guard durmg his stay. 

Mrs. Meade was as elegant, refined and cultured as her hus- 
band. They died within six months of each other. 

The costly furniture, cut glass and china, with which one hun- 
dred guests could at one time be served, have been scattered 
throughout the country. The lovely and beautiful bric-a-brac can 
be found in many homes, and there is still in Chillicothe, Ohio, a 
])iauo iipon which Mrs. Meade, when three-score and ten, played, 
and it was the first instrument of its kind ever brought into the 
state of Kentucky. 

The eldest son had died young and unmarried. At Colonel 
Meade's death, none were able to maintain or to 'hold Chaumiere, 
and so it went under the hammer on the block and was bought by 
a plain, practical farmer. This surprised and distressed the citi- 
zens of Jessamine county, who had taken a just pride in this 
strange and beautiful home, and in a little while after the new 
owner of the place had been announced, there was placarded in 
large letters on the houses over the grounds the words "Para- 
dise Lost." This caused the purchaser to become indignant, and 
in less than a week the beautiful flower Q-ardens were filled with 



m^forii of .h'>immnt<' Coiintji, Kcntiickii. 219 

horses, cattle and hogs. The glorious forest trees were felled, 
lodges torn down, parks destroyed, and lakes drained. A portion 
of the house was pulled down, and in the rooms which were once 
the resort of fashion and made memorable by the presence of the 
most distinguished people in the land, were stored wheat and 
corn. Only three rooms now remain of this once mag;nificent 
home. 

On a hill overlooking Chaimiiere in a neglected burving- 
giound, sleeps the dust of David Meade and his wife and a few of 
his family, but the memories of Chaumiere will long live in Jes- 
samine county and in the West. 

Xotiiwithstanding its difference from the other homes in Jessa- 
mine county, and notwithstanding the diiTerence between him and 
his neighbors, there was no jealousy. He did not interfere 
with his fellow-countr\nien. He entertained their guests if 
they were refined and re]nital)le. and he sought no political pre- 
ferment. asked for no honors, only desiring to be permitted to 
live in his own way and to exhibit his own taste in his own home. 

It was arranged that General La Fayette should be entertained 
at Chaumiere, and for this purpose Colonel Meade constructed a 
beautiful octagonal room. This, with two other small rooms ofT of 
die octagonal room, are all that remains as a monument to the 
beauty and to the charming associations connected with this 
marvelous home in the wilderness. 

John Cawbey, 

John Cawbey was a resident of Independence. Mo. In Sep- 
tember, 1884. he wrote to S. M. Duncan a letter which contains 
many interesting facts in regard to some of the olden time people 
in Jessamine, and also some reminiscences in regard to Dr. Tris- 
ler, the first physician in Jessamine. 'and which indicates that Dr. 
Trisler was something of a medium and fortune teller and prac- 
ticed these arts in addition to medicine. For many years, tradi- 
tions have been floating among the people of pristine 
jessamine, in regard to the marvelous power of Dr. Trisler and his 
possession of mysterious powers in locating disease, finding lost 
property, and in early days there were many who accredited tht 
good, old doctor with the highest order of supernatural vision. 



220 Hidory of Jessainiiie County, Kentucky. 

Air. Cawbey says : "My mother died at PVanklin, Ind., in hei 
70th year ; my father died in his 47th year ; my grandfather, John 
Cawbey. Hved to the age of 87 years. His wife, my grandmother, 
Hved to the age of 105 years, and died in Mercer county, Ky. 'My 
grandfather was born in Lincoln county. Kentucky, and settled 
in Jessamine county in 1808, where he spent all his life, and was 
buried at old West Union church lot, better known as the 
"Hoover graveyard." In this old lot lie my first wife, her 
brother, father, and grandfather. Conrad Earthenhouse; the father 
of the late venerable Elizabeth Bowman, who lived to reach the 
great age of 108. She died in 1886. I have in my keeping Dr. 
Peter Trisler's German medical works, printed in Wittenberg, 
Germany, in 1442, which makes 442 years since they were printed. 
(Printing was invented in 1440.) I have also the Bible of Dr. Tris- 
ler, which is 400 }'ears old and a commentary over 300 vears old, 
in the German language. The first of his medical books contains 
1,180 pages, the second book. 1.342 pages. I send you this infor- 
mation for the purpose of giving you a correct account, and the 
dates that I found concerning the first settlers on Jessamine creek, 
among my papers which I sent to Missouri several months before 
I left Jessamine county. When I have more time it will afiford me 
pleasure to give vou many more interesting facts concerning 
the old settlers along Jessamine creek and their occupation. Be- 
ginning on the west side of Hickman road, running down Jes- 
samine creek, there was the home of Joseph Wallace, who was a 
farmer and tanner. Next was John Carroll, farmer and auction- 
eer ; Peter Funk, farmer and distiller; Michael Ritter, farmer and 
vender of crockery ware, etc.; Samuel Walls, farmer; Thos. Rey- 
nolds, father of Barney Reynolds, farmer and distiller, and 
spent much of his life fishing; Jacob Myers, father of the late W. 
B. Myers, was a manufacturer of gun powder on the farm where 
Wm. Mathews now lives; Richard West was a gunsmith and 
farmer, and owned the farm where Wm. Bourne is now living; 
Christopher Arnspiger lived on the other side of the creek, was a 
farmer and cooper; next came the old Howser mill property, owned 
by Abraham Elowser and George Mason. Both had an equal 
share in the mill, and each one had his part of the farm, and both 
carried on a distillery of their own ; next was the Bennett farm — 
this old Mr. Bennett fell down from his barn loft and killed him- 



Hidori/ of Jr!<m))i'nu' CoiDiti/, Kciifiirki/. 22\ 

self. He was an old bachelor, and would often hide himself when 
ladies passed his house ; Conrad Earthenhouse was a farmer and 
weaver, and also had a distillery; George Smith, the grandfathei 
of Willis B. Smith, lived on the farm now occupied by Willis; he 
was a farmer and distiller. On that old farm in his grandfather's 
lifetime, I ground corn for the said distiller}- in the year 1827. At 
old Thomas Haydon's mills, now owned by James Lewallen, for- 
merly by Frank Grow, there was a distillery attached to this prop- 
erty. It has passed through many hands since I first knew the 
place ; the next farm on the creek was the old Crozier mill and 
cotton factory. This property, like many others in those days, 
had a distillery on it. It was here on this farm that the first steam 
engine was ever used in Jessamine county. Mr. Crozier and 
James Hill ran it for nineteen years. The next place was that 
owned by Mr. Womack and Thos. Bryan, avIio owned the old 
paper mill and grist mill built by old John Lewis. This mill was 
the first one erected in Jessamine county, and had the first French 
buhr stones brought to Jessamine county, which cost Mr. Lewis 
$1,200. The old mill is now owned by John H. Glass. 

"Before closing this long letter I will relate some of Dr. Tris- 
ler's strange performances. He would sometimes invite his 
neighbors to see him. He would then disappear in the very 
presence of the company, and none could tell what had become of 
him. He could stop the flow of l^lood from any wound by giving 
the initials of the proper name of any man or women — this was 
all that was required. He could tell where stolen property was 
concealed. He could light a candle in a large room by rubl)ing 
his hands together. He could tell the exact number of pigs a sow 
would have at a litter. These are matters of fact and have been 
tested and are well known as facts, among the early settlers of Jes- 
samine county. I remember, myself, there lived a man on the 
farm of Thomas Gordon, about one mile south of Nicholasville, 
who had a horse stolen. He came to see Dr. Trisler, three times 
l)efore he would tell him where the horse was. On the third day 
Dr. Trisler met the owner of the stolen horse and told him to go 
to the town of Lancaster, in Garrard county, and near the county 
jail he would find the horse hitched to a fence ; he added : "But the 
man that took the horse from vour stable has been killed in a 



222 Hidory of Je><sainine County, Kentucky. 

drunken frolic." This may appear unreasonable, but I know it to 
be true. Very truly, your friend, 

John Cawbey. 

Alexander Wake. 

Alexander Wake was the first County Judge of Jessamine 
county under the Constitution of 1850. He was born in Fau- 
C[uier county, Virginia, in 1797, and died in Nicholasville in 1867. 
Through his maternal and paternal ancestors, he inherited the 
love of liberty, for both took part in the war for independence. 
In the beginning of the present century. Judge Wake's father re- 
moved to Woodford county. He brought with him from Vir- 
ginia, a large number of slaves. Judge Wake commenced the 
study of law and was admitted to the practice of his profession in 
1820. In 1851, when he was elected County Judge, he refused 
to grant license to sell liquor. Judge James Letcher, of Garrard 
county, was the first judge who refused to grant such license, and 
he was immediately followed by Judge Wake, of Jessamine. He 
w-as a fearless man in the discharge of his official duty ; he knew 
neither friend or foe on the bench ; he followed the dictates of his 
conscience and his judgment, and commanded the respect and 
confidence of his fellow-citizens. 



John B, Cook, 

In i8io Dawson Cook, who was a native of King and Queen 
countw Virginia, removed to Nicholasville, bringing with him his 
son, John B. Cook, then four years of age. Early in life Mr. Cook 
entered business in Nicholasville, became a member of the Meth- 
odist church, and in all the relations of life acted well his part. 
He was kind, generous, thoughtful and courteous to his friends 
and neighbors. One characteristic of his life was his devotion to 
his church. For fifty-two years he was an earnest supporter of 
the Nicholasville Methodist church, and was rarely, if ever, ab- 
sent from his seat in the sanctuary. He died in 1886, in the sev- 
enty-third year of his age. 

r)ne of his sons, Rev. T. B. Cook, was adjutant of the Fifth 
Kentuckv Confederate infantrv, and later a distinguished Meth- 



Hiftonj of Je>iA(imhie Coiiiifi/, Kndiickij. 2'l?i 

odist divine. His sons, John, Edward, and Bush L. Cook, the 
latter proprietor of tlie Hotel Nicholas, and one dau^^hter survive 
him. His piety and his patriotism combined with his kind and 
genial manners render him one of the best remembered citizens of 
lessamine county. 

Capt John Wallace 

\\'as born in lUicks county, Pennsylvania, Dec. i8, 1748. His 
father hatl come from Ireland in 1737. Captain Wallace served 
in the Revolutionary armies under General Washington. He had 
three brothers in his compau}-. He was with Wasliington when 
he crossed the Delaware, and fought the battle of Trenton. 
Colonel Rahl, the commander of the Hessians, in that battle, was 
killed by one of the sharpshooters in Captain Wallace's com- 
pany. There Captain W^allace took from one of the Hessia.i 
officers a sword, which was kept in the family for eighty years, and 
was taken by Federal soldiers from the house of the Rev. Joseph 
Wallace, in Independence, Alissouri, during the late war. .Vfter 
his marriage to Jane ImuIcv, in 1777. he removed to A'irginia, but 
shortly after came to L^ayette county, Ky.. accompanied by sev- 
eral members of his familw His son, Joseph Wallace, married 
Sarah llarr, January 24, 1829, and shortly after this Captain Wal- 
lace setded in Jessamine county, where the East Fork and main 
Jessamine Creek unite, and carried on for more than forty years 
an extensive tannerv. He was a most efficient business man, 
kindl}- and considerate in all the relations of life, and was one of 
the l:)est citizens that ever lived in Jessamine. He died at his 
place, a few miles south of Xicholasville, Dec. 19, 1855, in the 
76th year of liis age. Mrs. T. J. Brown was one of his daughters. 
Scattered throughout Kentucky and Missouri are his descend- 
ants. They carry witli them as their inheritance the manly, pa- 
triotic, intelligent and Christian instincts which marked their an- 
cestors. 

A Romantic Story. 

On the first day of January, 1841, a young man about thirty 
years of age, made his appearance in Nicholasville, wliich then 
had a population of only 550 inhabitants. His name was Ross 



224 Hidory of Jessamine CoiDitij, Kentucky. 

Hughes, and he was a stage driver, a native of Ireland and a man 
of pluck and energy. He obtained employment, and rented an old 
house then belonging to Albert Young. He and his wife con- 
stituted the family. He drove the stage from Xicholasville to 
Harrodsburg, over rough roads in winter. After he quit driving 
the stage, he one day told his wife that he must visit Louisville 
and New Orleans. He remained away from home for a long time 
and the gossips of the town made the young wife unhappy by 
their disagreeable insinuations. After an absence of four months 
the husband returned, but within a week he received a budget of 
letters, and told his wife that he nuist go at once to St. Louis, and 
iTx a few hours, he took his departure for the last time from Nich- 
olasville, and gossip again turned its hateful tongue to the dis- 
turbance of the life and heart of the young wife. The public felt 
that she was deserted. Shortly after she became a mother, and 
for eighteen months lived on in silence, hoping and trusting. At 
the end of this time she received a letter from her husband di- 
recting her to come at once with her child, which she did, after 
disposing of her little household effects. L^pon reaching St. 
Louis she found that her husband was the owner of a splendidly 
furnished house with every convenience for her comfort, and 
with colored servants ready to obey her wishes. In due time 
the little girl born in the little log house on the 27th of January, 
1 841, became a lady in fashionable society in St. Louis, and later 
the wife of an English Lord, and the mistress of a superb man- 
sion in London society. She died Lady Stirling, on the 6th day oi 
September. 1889, ""^ London. Her first husband was a distinguished 
Major General, in the Federal army. The old log house in 
which Lady Stirling was born is still standing, and is the property 
of Mr. Corrington. It has been altered and weatherboarded 
anew, and is still one of the most comfortable residences in the 
town. It was erected in 1804, and is on the corner lot in the rear 
of Joseph Lear's livery stable. 

Prolific of Statesmen. 

In one corner of Jessamine county there were six neighbor- 
liood boys, living almost in sight of each other, all of whom played 
together and attended the same school. Four of these — George 



Hidory of Jesmmine County Kentucky. 



225 



S. Shanklin, Otho R. Singleton, Sam'l H. \\'oodson and A. G. Tal- 
bott — became members of Congress ; the fifth — Jos. B. Crockett — 
became one of the most distinguished state judges in America, and 
was for many years Chief Justice of Cahfornia ; while the sixth — 
Richard K. Call — was elected to Congress from Florida, in 1823. 
He was Governor of Florida from 1836 to 1839, and again from 
1 841 to 1844. Such a record of distinguished services from one 
neighborhood is certainlv rare in this or anv other countv. 



George S. Shanklin. 

Hon. G. S. Shanklin was the youngest son of John vShanklin. 
who was one of the early pioneers, emigrating from Pennsvlvania 




to Kentucky. He settled in Jessamine county in 1785. He earl v 
attended the celebrated school of Joshua Fry. He was not a 
15 



226 Hutory of Jessamine Couidy, Kentucky. 

politician or time-server. He was a man of a high sense of in- 
tegrity, modesty, courtesy and of retiring disposition. He was 
an able and successful practitioner of law. a man of most incor- 
ruptible honor. He was elected to Congress in 1865. and repre- 
sented Jessamine county in the lower house in 1838. and was 
Presidential Elector in 1864. The latter years of his life were 
spent upon his farm, about three miles from Nicholasville, on 
the Versailles turnpike. He died April ist, 1883. seventy-five 
years of age. 

Otho R, Singleton. 

One of the distinguished sons of Jessamine was Otho R. 
Singleton. He was born near Keene, in 1816. In 1842 he 
setded in the state- of Mississippi. He was a gifted man, of superb 
presence, fine courage and attractive address, and in his adopted 
state became very prominent. He was the son of Lewis Single- 
ton, and nephew of Elijah Singleton. He attended Bardstown 
Colleg,"e in his early life, and immediately after going to Missis- 
sippi was elected and served two years in the legislature. He 
afterwards served six years in the Mississippi vState Senate, and 
in i8S2 was the presidental elector from Mississippi. He was 
chosen as a mennber of the 33d, 35th and 36th Congresses. He 
entereil the Civil War with a ^Mississippi regiment, and acquitted 
himself with great gallantry. At the battle of Leesburg a 
Federal officer from Boston — a Captain Watson — demanded his 
surrender. At that time Mr. Singleton was a captain in the 
Second ^Mississippi regiment. His resi)onse to the Federal 
officer was a shot wliich killed him instantly. After the war Mr. 
Singleton was elected a member of the 44th Congress, and 
served in 1875 as a member of that Ijody. His father was an 
extensive hemp manufacturer, and maintained his factory near 
Keene. He died a few vears since at Jackson. ]\Iiss. 



Rev, John T, Hendricks, D, D, 

Mr. Hendricks was one of the most useful and also one of the 
most distinguished men educated in Jessamine. Having united 
with the Nicholasville Presbvterian church, the ol^cers of the 



H'lMonj of Jeiff^aiiiutf ('(nndij. Kentuckij. 227 

congregation discovered that he was a man of fine mind and deej) 
religious convictions. The church undertook liis echication for 
the ministry, and amply did he repa\- it for the services rendered 
hy it to him in his youth. 

He was l)orn in Barren county in 1810. His father came from 
A'irginia and settled in Kentucky in 1805, and died in Jessamine 
county in 1839, two miles east of Nicholasville. His Avife who 
V. as Mary Tilman, died at the same place in February, 1838. His 
ancestors were staunch Protestants and served under William, 
Prince of Orange, in the war waged by Philip H. of Spain 
against tlie. Protestants of Holland, about the middle of the Six- 
teenth century. 

Wihile preparing for the ministry, he undertook the work of 
colporteur in Jessamine county, and his report of his labors is 
still in existence. He distributed 31 Bibles free, sold 15, do- 
nated 25 Testaments, and sold 5. His report closes with these 
words: "T have been engagCvd five days, finding my own horse, 
"at one dollar per day, which I have received. 

"March 6, 1830." 

He visited in all 148 families in the territory bounded as fol- 
lows : From Nicholasville with the Shaker road to Jessamine 
creek, with the same to the river, up the river to the Paint Lick 
road, to the beginning. 

Dr. Hendricks died only a few months ago in the 88th year ot 
his age. His services at Clarksville, Paducah and other portions 
of the Presbyterian church in the Southern states, have given 
him wide distinction as a man of great earnestness, and great 
faithfulness in his ^Master's cause. 

John Gorman. 

John Gorman, a member of Captain Price's company, was a 
native of Wavne county. Pa. He was born in 1792. He removed 
to Kentuckv in very early life, and when the call was made for vol- 
unteers, in 1812, he promptly ofifered his services. He was the 
first man in Captain Price's command to fire a gun in the battle of 
Raisin. He killed an Indian and a British soldier early in the 
morning. 

He long lived in the western part of Jessamine county as one 



228 Hidory of Jesmmine County, Kentucky. 

of its best and worthiest citizens and died in 1876, in his eighty- 
second year. He was brave, honest and patriotic. 

Capt. Thomas T. Cogar. 

Nature was generous to Capt. Thos. T. Cogar, and gave him 
as his portion in Hfe, fourscore-and-six years. 

His father, Michael Cogar, settled in Jessamine in 1790 at the 
head of Jessamine creek, and there his son Thomas was born in 

1796. 

Captain Cogar was a man of strong mind and the kindest im- 
pulses. His devotion to friends knew no limitations. He mar- 
ried Miss Ruth Ewing in 1822, and 'n 1847 removed to the Ken- 
tucky river, at Cogar's Landing, sometimes called Brooklyn. 
Here he carried on a large trade and managed the shipping busi- 
ness on the Kentucky river, from that point. 

He became a distinguished Mason, and commanded, for many 
years, one of the crack military companies of the county. He 
managed to secure a large pork-packing establishment at his 
landing and by his energy and popularity built up a remunerative 
trade for such a locality. 

He represented Jessamine county for two terms, in the legis- 
lature of 1867-71, and died in Nicholasville in 1882. He was an 
honorable man, a patriotic citizen, a loyal friend, and an intelli- 
g'ent and faithful legislator. 

John Barklcy, 

In the earlier history of Jessamine county that portion of it 
lying in the general neighborhood of Keene produced an unusual 
number of very enterprising as well as very gifted men. Among 
these was John Barkley, who held large landed interests in Jes- 
samine county prior to 1834. At that time Mr. Barkley removed 
to Boyle county, and established the first hemp 'manufactbry 
south of the Kentucky river. He was largely engaged in mer- 
chandise and was also one of the leading men in the develop- 
ment of the state. He was born in Jessamine county in 1809. 

He was the first President of the proposed railroad from Lex- 
ingfton to Danville from the South. Railroad buildins: at that 



Hlftory of Jetixamine County, Kentucky. 229 

period presented almost insurmountable difficulties. Mr. Bark- 
ley went to New York and engaged a civil engineer to examine 
the prospects for the construction of the road. The mighty 
chasms of the Kentuck}- river stood in the way. Cantilever and 
suspension bridges for railways had not then been used or even 
invented, The construction of a railway was practically impos- 
sible without a bridge which wouLl span the Kentucky river. 
Air. Adams, the engineer, surveying the road from Lexington to 
Danville, proposed to span the Kentucky at the point where the 
Cincinnati Southern now crosses. 

The engineering and iinancial difficulties would have defeated 
most men, but they only aroused Air. Barkley to higher effort. 
He was a man of great pluck, high order of talent, sparkling wit 
and a fine conversationalist. He had received the best educational 
advantages and had followed these with wide reading, especially 
in English literature. 

He represented Boyle county in the legislature in 1845, and 
was a leader in all movements for the prosperity and development 
of the county. 

Prior to his death he had purchased one of the finest farms in 
Boyle county, near Danville, and was residing there at the time 
he undertook the construction of the Lexington & Danville Rail- 
road. While on his way from Danville to Nicholasville, in com- 
pany with Mr. Adams, the engineer, to arrange some matters in 
connection with tlie enterprise, the horse, which he was driving, 
became frightened on the cliffs of the Kentucky river, and ran 
away, striking the vehicle against a rock on the side of the road. 
He was thrown out and instantly killed. This occurred on the 
21st day of January, 1853. 

Few men at that time would have been a greater loss to Ken- 
tucky. Air. Barkley was one of the master spirits of enter- 
prise in that period when Kentucky, above all others, needed 
men to lead, promote and advance internal improvements. 

He left the work which he had inaugurated for others to com- 
plete, but the boldness of his plans and the wisdom of his designs 
have been vindicated in later years and that great thoroughfare, 
the Cincinnati .Southern Railway, is the consummation of that 
which Air. Barklev had devised at a time when other men would 



230 Hidonj of Je><mmine GoHntij, Kentucky. 

have dismissed such a project from their minds as utterly im- 
possible. 

Joseph B. Crockett, 

In 1808, Joseph B. Crockett was born at Union Mills, on 
Hickman creek, A short while after, his father removed to Lo- 
gan comity, and there the son attended a classical school. In 
1827 he entered the University of Tennessee, at Nashville, but 
in consequence of the straitened pecuniary condition of his 
father, he was compelled to leave the University after one year. 
He studied law^ at Hopkinsville with Governor Morehead. In 
1830 he formed a partnership with Gustavus A. Henry, which, 
after two years, was dissolved. In 1833, he was elected to the 
legislature, where, at once, his talents and his industry gave him 
a high stand. He was again elected to the legislature in 1836. to 
fill a vacancy, and shortly after this he was appointed Common- 
wealth's Attorney by Governor Clark. His career as a prosecu- 
tor was brilliant and able, but the duties of the oflfice were uncon- 
genial ; his talents led him to prefer the defense rather than the 
prosecution, and he soon established a reputation for being one 
of the ablest criminal lawyers ever known in Kentucky. 

In 1840, he removed to St. Louis, Mo., where a most brilliant 
success crowned his career, but, his health giving way, in 1852 
he settled in California, and in a little while found himself in the 
very front rank of the bar in that state. 

His kindness of heart and his generous courtesy secured for 
him the highest popularity. Upon the death of Judge Shapter, of 
the Supreme Court of California. Mr. Crockett was appointed 
to fill the unexpired term. He held the place of Chief Justice for 
twelve years and retired in 1880 — the result of infirmity produced 
by advanced years. He was regarde-I by the people of California 
as one of the most brilliant, able and distinguished judges who 
ever sat on the bench of the Supreme Court. 

David Bowman, 

One of the unique characters in the early history of Jessamine 
county was David Bowman. He was born in Bucks county. Pa., 
in 1784, and settled in Jessamine coimty, on Jessamine creek, in 



History of Jes^samlne GouMij, Kentiifk(/. 231 

1800. His forefathers in Pennsylvania were members of the 
Churcli of the United Brethren. Mr. Bowman united with the 
Presbyterian church in Nicholasville in 1825, and was for more 
than sixty-five years a faithful and devoted attendant. At the 
time of his death in 1879, he was the oldest member of the church 
and was the last of the old men born m the eighteenth century. 

When a young- man he became addicted to the use of liquor ; 
resolving to rid himself of this habit, he went to Lexington and 
after a three days' walk in the mud, reached that city. There he 
received the help of a gentleman, who aided him to go to New 
Orleans on a fiatboat, and there he took service on a ship, which 
plied between New Orleans and Havana, and followed the sea 
for twelve years, and accimiulated quite a fortune. He returned 
to Jessamine county, married, and on twelve acres of land always 
had corn and wheat, and money to spare. 

For many years he attended church in Nicholasville, coming 
on horseback, with his wife behind him. He insisted to the time 
of his death upon wearing a blue, spade-tail coat. 

John Butler, 

John Butler was the son of Thomas Butler, one of the old 
sheriffs of Jessamine county, under the Constitution of 1779. He 
was born in Jefferson county, A'a., in July, 1813, and was only six 
years old when his father settled in Jessamine county. He was a 
kind, honest and upright man. and commanded the respect and 
confidence of his fellow-citizens. He was deputy sheriff two 
terms, and died March i. 1870. He was one of the substantial 
and enterprising men of Jessamine county. 

James R. Davis. 

James R. Davis was born near Nicholasville in 1809. He was 
the third son of James Davis, and nephew of William Davis, two 
brothers, who came from Culpeper Court House, \^a . and set- 
tled in Jessamine county in 1798. James Davis was the son of 
Henry Davis, of Culpeper county, Ya., who served in the Rev- 
olutionary War, under General Washington, and General Wayne. 
He died in Fayette countv in 1794. 



.'^32 H'tston/ of JeAmmine County, Kentucky. 

James R. Davis lived in the Sulphur Wells neighborhood for 
fifty years. He was a good and worth}' man. noted for his hospi- 
tality. He died in 1886. 

Samuel Woodson Price. 

Samuel AX'oodson Price, son of Maj. D. B. Price and Eliza 
Crockett, was born on the 5th of August. 1828, in Xicholasville, 
Kv. He earlv exhibited a marvelous talent for drawing, and he 




could draw the capital letters before he knew his alphabet. All 
his holidays and Saturdays were spent in sketching on paper and 
modeling in clay. \A'hen quite a boy he was sitting in the court 
house at a famous trial. Thomas F. Marshall was addressing 
the jury for the prisoner. During this speech the attention of 
the young artist was drawn to an old and prominent farmer who- 



History of Jessamine Couufi/,, Kcntiiekii . l!33 

was listening, with eager attention to the elocjuent words which 
were being uttered. His head was resting on his hands, his 
fingers along the side of his face, while his month was wide open. 
]n a little while the sketch was completed. He handed it to the 
sheriff, who laughed aloud and in turn handed it to the judge, 
who also was not able to suppress his mirth. It was passed from 
neighbor to neighbor, and everybody laughed, and the speaker 
was compelled to pause for a few minutes. 

After attending the Nicholasville Academy he was sent to the 
Kentucky Institute to complete his education. This was in the 
fall of 18.46. He was at once made Professor of Drawing, with 
the rank of First Lieutenant. In 1847 the University suspended 
and he went at once to Lexington to pursue his studies with the 
lenowned painter, Oliver Frazier. There he attained s])lendid 
success. His painting, "Old King Solomon," is one of the most 
noted ever produced in Kentucky. His portrait of Chief Justice 
George Robertson, and the painting of Dr. J- J- Bullock and his 
familv, rank among the masterpieces of the state. The Govern- 
ment purchased from him a portrait of Major-General Thomas, 
which is now in the National Gallery, at Washington. 

At the beginning of the war he commanded an independent 
com]:)any at Lexington. knc)wn as the Old Infantry. jMost of 
this company entered the Federal service. He was afterwards 
appointed Colonel of the Twenty-first Kentucky Infantry. He 
brought this regiment to a high state of efificiency, and the service 
it afterward performed in the Civil war. from '61 to '65, was 
in considerable measure induced by his splendid training. At 
tlie l:)attle of Stone River he made a heroic stand and was op- 
posed to the Kentucky Confederate troops under Breckinridge. 

General Price was badly wounded at Kenesaw Mountain 
and taken from the field. This incapacitated him for further 
active service. He was appointed commandant of the pt:)St at 
Lexington, and was such at the close of the war. He was brev- 
eted Brigadier-General for his gallant conduct at Kennesaw. and 
afterwards was Postmaster at Lexington, which place he held for 
two terms. Pie moved to Louisville after his retirement from the 
position of Postmaster, to pursue his profession, portrait paint- 
ing, but the loss of his eyesight prevented him from further work, 
and he is now totalp- blind. He is a writer of vi^for and a mem- 



234 History of Jessamine Countt/, Kentucky. 

ber of the Filson Club, for which he frequently prepares sketches, 
which are greatly appreciated and highly valued. Several of his 
jiaintings take high rank, and one, "Caught Napping," is a 
masterpiece of its kind. The closing of his professional life by 
the destruction of his sight, was a great loss, not only to Ken- 
tucky but to all lovers of art. 



William T. Willis. 

Captain Willis was born on the loth of June, 1794, in Cul- 
peper county, \'a.. and was killed at the battle of Buena \'ista, 
February 23rd, 1847. He married tirst Hetty E. Howe, daugh- 
ter of a Presbyterian minister. He had been educated at a semi- 
nary taught l)y liis father-in-law. He was elected to represent 
Green county in the Legislature several times, and also repre- 
sented Green and Hart in tlie Senate in 1833 and 1838. He made 
the race for Congress in that district in 1839. witb a majority of 
2.000 against him, which he reduced to 200. At that time he was 
believed to be on his death-bed, and this seriously affected his 
vote. After his marriage he began merchandising, and shipped 
large quantities of tobacco by flat-boat, and drove horses through 
tlie countr}' to New Orleans. The partner, who he sent on one 
of these expeditions, was taken sick after selling the horses and 
tobacco, and died, and before Captain Willis could reach the place 
of his demise, the proceeds of the sale had disappeared. Being 
involved, he returned at once, sold out his stock, and commenced 
studying law and practiced in Green and adjoining counties. Not- 
withstanding that he had a large debt and a family of eight chil- 
dren, and at that time was compelled to meet such men as Samuel 
Brent. Ben Hardin. Judge Cnderwood and Judge Buckner, he 
I succeeded admirably in his profession. In 1840 he removed to 
Harrodsburg. remained there three years, and then came to Jes- 
samine county. He was a man of singular energy and great abil- 
ity. He had built up a large practice, and was regarded through- 
out Kentucky as one of its most promising statesmen. Although 
fifty years of age at the breaking out of the Mexican war. he at 
once organized a company for service and his ardent patriotism 
is best attested by the fact that with him. three of his sons volun- 



Hidori/ of Je^xamine County, Kentitcky. 235 

teered as privates; the youngest of whom was barely fifteen years 
of age. 

The following is a list of his men : 

Roll of Company "¥," Second Regiment, Kentucky Foot 
Volunteers — Mexican War : 

Wm. T. Willis, ist captain, killed at Buena Msta. 

Captain — James C). Hervy. First Lieutenant — William R. 
Keene. Second Lieutenant — Thos. J. Proctor. Second Lieu- 
tenant — Wm. C. Lowry. Sergeants — William L. Smith ist, An- 
drew J. Nave, 2d, Jno. C. Winter 3d, William Cox 4th ; Corpo- 
rals — Edward P. Green ist, Dudley Portwood 2d, John A. Willis 
3d, Chas. C. Hagan 4th. Drummer — Cortney L. I>urch. 

Privates — Allen, Jno. H. ; Brown, Geo. W. ; Burchell, Daniel ; 
Burton, Theodric ; Bruner, Thos. J.; Beymer, Saml. ; Castle, Au- 
gustus 1j. : Crane, Asa C. ; Crane, Jno. P. ; Collin*;, William ; Dan- 
iel, Wm. H. ; Dickerson, Woodson: Day, Wm.; Duman, James; 
Easby, Andrew L. ; Easby, Josiah ; England, Jas. S. ; F'ain, John ; 
Ford, Joshua (t. ; Ford, Edward D.; Garison, John A.; Graves, 
Living; Gibony, William; (n-ant, Geo. W. ; Howard, Robt. S.; 
Hamilton, William; Hunter, John; Hayden, Isah P.; Hill, 
(ireensbury; Harve}', Trotter; Hawkins, James; Jackman, Jos.-, 
Masters. Irvine; ^larvin, Wm. F. ; Masters, Jackson; Marks, 
Geo. L; Martin, Robert; Moore, Andrew IC; ^IcCampbell, Jno. 
G.; McConnel, Jas. A.; McMurtry, John; Nooe, Albert K. •, 
O'Brien, William ; Overstreet, Saml. R. ; Page, Thos. C. ; Patter- 
son, Wm. ; Roberson, Jacob C. ; Roberts, Andrew J. ; Rash, John ', 
Saunders, Jno. A. ; Saunders, Geo. W. ; Sacre, John ; Sharp, Eze- 
kiel K. ; Sweitzer, John ; Tutt, Wm. ; Thompson, Jno. T. ; White, 
Jas. X. ; Wilson. John ; Willis. Edmond C. ; Willis, Jas. H. 

Jacob Kreath Robinson, in the ofificia'l list spelled Robertson, 
was one of the youngest men in this company. He was born in 
1829. The oldest man in the company, John Hunter, was born 
in 1804. and was the son of John Hunter, the first settler. He 
was severely wounded in the leg at the battle of Buena Vista and 
died in 1881. Robinson was also a soldier in the late war. passed 
through all its hardships and dangers, endured its privations, and 
now resides at Harrodsburg. Ky. 

This company w'as ordered to report at I>ouisville to be mus- 
tered into service. They assembled at Mundy's Landing on the 



236 History of Jessamine Coiodij, Kentucky. 

Kentucky river ; some came on horseback, some in carriages, 
and they were ordered there to meet the steamboat Blue \\'ing'. 
When the company reached the river the steamboat was at 
Brooklyn, and while coming down to Mundy's Landing ran into 
a sandbar and stuck. Capt. Philip Thomson's company from 
fiercer county, was also on the way to Louisville. With ropes 
the soldiers pulled the steamer from off the sandbar twice, and, 
after it had stuck the third time, Capt. Thomson went to Salvisa 
and obtained wagons and drove through to Louisville, while Cap- 
tain Willis's company took coalboats at Mundy's Landing, rowed 
themselves down to Frankfort, and arrived there the next day. 
After taking breakfast in Frankfort, the steamer arrived at the 
landing and they took passage and reached Louisville, and were 
mustered in by Col. George Croghan. From Louisville thev 
were transported to New Orleans by steamers, and after re- 
maining there a few da}'s, they, crossed the Gulf of Mexico in 
some old British sailing vessels, and arrived at Brazos on the Rio 
Grande river. A part of the regiment was engaged in the bat- 
tle of Monterey. Shortly after this the regiment was ordered to 
the city of Saltillo, and from thence, marching with General Tav- 
lor. they engaged in the battle of Buena A'ista. This was one of 
the most brilliant battles that crowned American arms, and it 
was the only battle in which the entire regiment, with which Cap- 
tain Willis' company was connected, was engaged. This regi- 
ment was commanded by Col. W^illiam R. ]McKee. from Lancas- 
ter; Henry Clay. Jr.. was Lieutenant-Colonel, and Carv H. Frv. 
Major. The company was enrolled on the 21st of Alav. 1846, 
in Nicholasville. and was mustered in at Louisville June 9. 1846. 
and was mustered out at Xew Orleans June 9. 1847. 

The story of this battle has always reflected great credit and 
renown on Kentucky courage. The second Kentuckv Regiment 
was on the right flank of the army and held it throughout the 
battle, defeating the enemy opposite to them, which was twice 
their number. At this time the left flank gave way. and its retreat 
was only stopped by General Taylor and Jefferson Davis and the 
cavalry, who drove them back to face the enemy. It was then th.it 
Colonel Hardin, of the First Illinois, and Colonel McKee, of the 
Second, made a disastrous charge against an overwhelming force. 
This charge was made against the earnest protest of Colonel 'Mc- 



Hidory of Jexmmine County, Kentucky. 237 

Kee and C^aptain Willis, but Hardin insisted upon making it, and 
Lieutenant-Colonel Clay urged it, and the Kentucky boys, fear- 
ing that the Illinois men would get the glor^', McKee then united 
in the charge and was killed. Col. Henry Clay, Jr., was wound- 
ed, and Captain Willis, with the high courage and no'ble generos- 
ity which mark led. his wbOJe career, was urging his men to take the 
Lieutenant-Colonel froiii the field, when the Mexican Lancers 
came rapidly down and killed l)oth Colonel Clay and Captain 
Willis. Harvey Trotter, a soldier from Jessamine, was killed at 
the same time. James O. Llervey succeeded Captain Willis, and 
only four of the men who were engaged in the battle of Buena 
Vista in this company, now remain in Jessamine : John A. Willis, 
William C. Lowrey, William Hamilton and David Switzer. Cap- 
tain Willis' remains, as well as those of Trotter, were removed by 
the State of Kentucky, and reinterred in the state ground in 
Frankfort cemetery'. It was upon the occasiom of the reinter- 
ment of these soldiers that Theodore O'Hara wrote his immortal 
poem of " The i'ivouac of the Dead," commencing as follows : 

"The muffled drum's sad roll has beat 
The soldier's last tattoo ; 
No more on Life's parade shall meet 

That brave and fallen few. 
On Fame's eternal camping-ground 

Their silent tents are spread. 
And glor}- guards, with solemn round, 
The bivouac of the dead." 



Robert Young. 

Robert Young, a resident of Jessamine coimtv for more than 
sixty-four years, was born in Fayette county, on Elkhorn creek, 
not far from the Jessamine line, in 1803. His father, John 
Young, was a Revolutionary soldier and served three years under 
General Greene. At the breaking out of the war he Avas onlv 
sixteen years of age. He was engaged in the battles of Eutaw 
Springs, Monk's Corner, Guilford Court House, and at York- 
town. Robert Young was the son of John Young by his second 
wife, Cvnthia -^IcCuUoueh- 



Hldori/ of Jexsanune (oiinfij, Kenhicky. 239 

He learned hat manufacturing witli his brother-in-law, Mr. 
PVitzlen, at \'ersailles, and in 1825 established himself in Xicholas- 
ville. He accumulated a moderate fortune and in 1848 purchased 
a farm and retired from business as a manufacturer. 

He married Josephine Henderson, a granddaughter of Col. 
Joseph Crockett, and reared a large family. His oldest son, 
Rev. Daniel P. Young, was one of the leading Presbyterian min- 
isters of Kentucky ; his two sons, Robert and Melanchthon, two 
of the county's most substantial and successful farmers and most 
respected and loved citizens, while his other son, Col. Bennett H. 
Young, resides in Louisville and is the author of this book. His 
eldest daughter married Dr. Charles IMann and his youngest 
daughter. Josephine, now resides in Xicholasville. 

Robert Young was a man of high integrity and possessed all 
the best and noblest cjualities of citizenship. His word was better 
than his bond. Just, generous and conscientious in all his deal- 
ings, he connnanded, as he deserved, the respect and confidence 
of his friends and acquaintances. He was an earnest, faithful 
member and officer of the Presb}terian church and was an hon- 
ored member in many of its councils. Xo one ever questioned the 
reality of his religion ; he carried it into all the dealings of his life. 
He died X'ovember 2yth. 1889, beloved and deeply mourned by 
tlie entire community. He never failed to help those who were 
in want and the grateful remembrance of those who had received 
of his liberalitv and kindness is a rich legacv for anv man. 



Albert Gallatin Talbot 

Was born in Jessamine county, in the Keene neighborhood, 
where his father at that time resided. He subsequently removed 
to Boyle county, and represented that county in the Legislature m 
1869-73, a"<^^^ i" 1850 lit' was a member of the Thirty-fourth and 
Tliirtv-fifth Congresses, and of the Constitutional Convention of 
1849. 

He was a man of idomitable energy, agreeable manners, and 
was a successful politician. 



240 History of Jessamine Count t/, Kentuekij. 

David Crozier. 

Da\dd Crozier was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1795, 
and came to Jessamine county when he was quite a young man. 
He built what is known as Crozier's Mill, which is half stone and 
half wood, on Jessamine creek. In 1845 ^^^ carried on a cotton 
factory at his mill. He worked about forty hands, mostly boys 
and girls, and manufactured cotton cloth and jeans. With the in- 
troduction of railroads, and with the difhculty in getting materials 
(for by this time Jessamine county had ceased to grow cotton, 
and the supply of wool was never large enough to run the mill), 
this mill was closed. Thereafter Mr. Crozier became associated 
witli Dr. A. K. IMarshall in carrying the mails from Lexington 
to Bean Station, Tenn. 

He was energetic and enterprising and did much to foster and 
Kicdntain the earlier manufacturing establishments of the county. 

Dr. Francis Marion Jasper. 

Dr. Francis Clarion Jasper, who died at Cincinnati on the 
22nd of June, 1892, while not a native of Jessamine county, was 
long one of its most successful physicians, and his descent entitles 
him to more than passing notice. His Revolutionary ancestors 
came from Wales. His great-grandfather, Abraham Jasper, 
was born in Wales in 1728 and settled in Georgetown, South 
Carolina. From there he moved to a residence on Cooper river, 
near Charleston. His oldest son became a prominent Tory, while 
his other sons, Nicholas Jasper, John Jasper and William Jasper, 
were Ijrave and devoted soldiers in the cause of their country 
during the Revolutionary war, having served under General 
Sumter in North and South Carolina. 

After the Revolutionary war, Nicholas Jasper settled in Pulaski 
county, Ky., and became the father of a large family of brave 
and i)atriotic sons. Nicholas Jasper was born near Charleston, 
South Carolina, in 1752. Sergt. William Jasper was the youngest 
child, born in 1757. He was not quite twenty years old during 
the siege of Fort Moultrie, near Charleston, when the flagstaff 
was broken by a shot from the British. On seeing the flag thus 
lowered by a shot, Sergeant Jasper immediately sprang down 



HiKtory of Jefnamine County, KenfKcl'y. 



241 



and replaced the flag' amid a tremendous fire from the British fleet, 
commanded by Sir Peter Parker. For his bravery on that oc- 
casion Governor Rutledge, in the presence of the regiment, took 
liis sword from his side and presented it to Sergeant Jasper. He 
offered the brave sokHer a commission, which he refused. He 
was killed in the assanlt on Savannah, Oct. 7, 1779, when he was 
not (piite twenty-two years of age. 

Capt. Thomas Jasper, who was the father of Dr. Francis Marion 




Jasper, represented Pulaski count}' in the legislature of Kentuckv 
in 1833, '34 and '35, and when the War of 181 2 was declared he 
enlisted in the com])any commanded by Capt. Harrv James. 
He was in the regiment of Colonel Simrall. He was at the battle 
of the Thames and fought with splendid courage on that occasion. 
J)r. Jasper practiced his profession in Jessamine county more 
tlian thirty years. He answered every known call for his str- 
16 



242 



History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 



vices. He was kind, tender and gentle, and the question of 
remuneration affected neither the length nor the ability of his 
services. He was one of Jessamine's best citizens. 



Henry Metcalf 



Was the oldest son of Rev. John Metcalf, who surveyed Nicholas- 
ville. He was born in the vear 1800, and died at his home in 




Nicholasville, January 18, 1879. He passed his entire life in 
Nicholasville. He was a useful citizen and a manufacturer of 
ropes and bagging. He had a large factory which he operated 
for a long time successfully. He was a man of extraordinary 
sweetness of temper, and also of high character. He did the 
right as he knew it. He opened the first Sunday-school in the 
Southern Methodist Church in Nicholasville in the spring of 



Hidonj of Jex!<a)nuie Coiiidi/, Kcninclaj. 248 

1843. '^"'^^ ^^'^^ '^'^^ long" years one of the stewards in that church 
and was Hljeral in tlie su]:)port of liis church and earnest in its 
cause. He married a daughter of John Fishhack. who settled 
in Kentucky in 1790. in Jessamine county, where he died in 1845. 
JNIr. John Metcalf. who still survives and lives in Xicholasville, 
was his eldest son. George Metcalf. another son. now resides in 
Lexington, and was a gallant soldier in the Fifth Kentucky In- 
fantry, C. S. A., while Charles Metcalf, the youngest son, is one of 
the leading lawyers in Tennessee, and President of the Tennessee 
State Bar Association. John Metcalf and James Aletcalf, two of 
his sons, are still living, while two of his daughters. ]\Iiss Sallie and 
Miss Alice, now reside in Xicholasville at the old home place of 
their grandfather, who laid out and named the town. 

Louis H, Chrisman. 

Among the men of Jessamine who were prominent in the first 
fifty years of its existence was Louis H. Chrisman. He was 
born in 1813 and died in 1866, at his home two miles north of 
Nicholasville on the Lexington and Danville pike. He w'as al- 
wavs active in politics, was a warm partisan, and after a heated 
contest was elected sheriff of Jessamine county in 1858. He was 
the voungest son of Joseph Chrisman, brother of Gen. Hugh 
Chrisman. Joseph Chrisman was born in Rockingham county, 
A a., in 1776, and came to Kentucky with his brother and settled 
in Jessamine county in 1790. 

Mr. Chrisman served as a volunteer aid on the stafT of Gen. 
^^'m. R. Terrell, of the Federal army, wlio was killed at Perry- 
\\\\c. He was one of the leaders of the Whig partv in Jessamine 
countA' and was always a delightful com])anion wherever he went 
on account his fine social qualities. Fie was an extraordinary 
whistler. He could carry the several parts while whistling a tune 
and this made him a welcome guest at everv political meeting. 
He was a kind neighbor, a sincere friend, a generous opponent 
and a patriotic citizen. Mr. A. L. and George Chrisman, his sons, 
still reside on the old homestead. 



244 Hidory of Jessamine Cov)ity, Kenhichj. 

Daniel P, Young, 

Rev. Stuart Rol)inson, in speaking- of Rev. D. P. Young, said: 

"Mr. Young was perhaps the most successful of all the min- 
isters of the Rresbyterian church in Kentucky in winning souls 
to Christ. His greatness consisted in his wonderful skill in en- 
gaging the attention, alike of the converted and unconverted, in 
the Gospel way of salvation, and his eminent ability in expound- 
ing the Scriptures, setting forth that way, and beseeching men in 
Christ's stead to be reconciled to God. The secret of his suc- 
cess was in large ]:)art that his heart was in his work ; and he was 
a man who had a ver}' large heart, filled with the love of Christ 
and the love of souls. Nobody who knew him ever doubted the 
earnestness of his piety and holy zeal in the service of h.is Master. 
The many people all over Kentucky, who these twenty years aftei 
his death, grasp the hands of his children with a warmer clasp 
when they know who they are, and who speak their afifection foi 
liim with tears in their eyes, is the greatest evidence of the warm 
])lace he held in the hearts of those who came under his influence." 

Daniel P. Young was the oldest child of Robert and Josephine 
Henderson "S^oung, and on the lot where Jessamine Female In- 
stitute now stands, was born on February 22d, 1833. 

Under his mother's infliience he early consecrated his life to 
Christ and resolved in his boyhood to devote himself to the gospel 
ministrv. 

After passing through the home schools he entered Hanover 
College, at Hanover, Indiana, and graduated in the class of 1852. 
After finishing his course there, he prepared to attend Transyl- 
vania University to pursue the study of law, but while on his way 
to Lexington he was induced by his conflicting emotions to 
change his mind and turned back to Danville, Ky., where he 
entered the I'resbyterian Theological Seminary. 

' His first charge was at Georgetown, Ky., where under his 
ministry the membership of the church was largely augmented and 
in an unusual degree he won the love and affection of his congre- 
gation. 

From there he removed to the renowned Providence church, 
in Mercer countv, and from there he was induced bv the insistence 



Hixtonj of JeKxamine Coimfi/, Kentucky. 245 

of friends to acce])t the charge of the Xicholasville church. In 
both success crowned his efforts and he was blessed in the up- 
building" of these churches. 

In 1S78, he was called to the charg-e of the Presbyterian church 
at Anchorage, and in conjunction with it the principalship of 
IJellewood Seminary and Kentucky Presbyterian Normal 
School. His eminent fitness for this position was recognized 
on every hand, but, within a few months after he removed to 
Anchorage, on June 30th, 1878. he ended the labors of his earnest, 
useful and faithful life. 

John Lafon, 

The Lafons who came to American were refugees from France 
during the Huguenot i)ersecution. The founders of the family 
settled in South Carolina and A'irginia, and their descendant, 
I^ichard I>afon, married Miss Anna Alaxey. removed to Ken- 
tucky and settled in Jessamine count^■ in 1793. Thev came over 
the Wilderness Road, with their herds and household effects and 
slaves and settled, through a patent, a thousand acres, comprising 
the original Fountain House tract, being the lands now occupied 
by Rurrier, Phillips, Br}-ants, and Flkins and others, about two 
and a half miles from Keene, toward Lexington. Richard Lafon 
war. a man of unusual education for that period. He left a reason- 
able fortune, although he died a comparatively yotmg man. He 
l)uilt one of the first brick dwelling houses in the countv. 

His son, John Lafon, was born December 4, 1800. He early 
had every social and literary advantage, and traveled not onlv in 
the United States but al)road. He was a man of unusual energy, 
great ju.igment, broi'd and comprehensive views, and was a born 
leader of men. As a result of his trading and manufacture he 
spent his winters in Cuba and New Orleans and his summers in 
Kentucky on his farm. At one time he leased all the hemp 
factories in three counties and shipped their product to the South 
bv way of the Kentucky and Ohio rivers. 

He was a close friend of Henry Clay and in manv important 
matters his adviser. He was the moving spirit and the president 
of the Lexington & Harrodsburg Turnpike Company at the 
period of its cpnipletion. The road was commenced in 1834, bv 

/ 

( 
I 
I 



246 



Hidonj of Jesmmhie County, Kentucky. 



the state, then abandoned and then leased by the state to Lewis 
Singleton for twenty years. Singleton died shortly after the 
acquisition of the road, and it was then taken up by John Lafon 
and completed through to Perryville in 1847. The work near 
the Kentucky river was done under Mr. Lafon's administration, 
and required very large outlay and a high order of engineering 
skill. He had tremendous difficulties, both physical and financial, 




to overcome, but with his master mind he worked out a mag- 
nificent success and in the completion of this turnpike rendered 
Fayette, Jessamine. Mercer and Boyle counties an incalculable 
benefit. 

Backed i)v his energy and financial ability, this great thorough- 
fare was built in the face of great difficulties. Such improve- 
ments in those days could only lie carried on at large expenditure, 
relatively much larger than now, and to undertake the construe^ 



Hidorii of Je^^Sioniite Goantij, Kentuehij. 247 

tion of a graded road such as this pike, tliroug-li the country on 
either side contiguous to the Kentucky river, demonstrates that 
he was a man of a high order of moral courage as well as the 
possessor of great sagacity and unyielding will. 

He married Mary Ann Barkley, whose grandfather had been 
compelled to leave Ireland, where a price had been placed on his 
head. And in the struggle for Irish independence he was the 
friend of Robert Enuiiett and devoted to the liberty of his country. 
Mrs. Lafon was also a descendant of the Higbees and they came 
from Xew Jersey. In early days they built boats on South Elk- 
horu and hauled them to Brooklyn and other landings on the 
Kentucky and laimched them, from whence thev were floated to 
Xew ( )rleans. 

A man of culture himself, possessed of a large estate, in- 
herited l)Oth from his father and his mother, he made a home in 
every wa} attractive and delightful. His hospitality was un- 
bounded; he accumulated one of the best libraries in Kentucky, 
collected curios, and by his intelligence, his enterprise and his 
talents l)ecame associated with and was the friend of manv of the 
leading men of the state. His home at one time almost rivaled 
Chaumiere. He built a beautiful house, he laid out handsome 
groimds. erected l^ath houses and spring houses, built laundries 
with hot and cold ])ipes, constructed artificial lakes, and im- 
proved charming drives. There was on his land an apparently 
bottomless spring from which boiled up a great volume of water. 
This, 1:)y a s])lcndid circular stone basin, he changed into a most 
attractive fountain and called his home after it — Fountain House. 
With these surroundings he founded an elegant and ideal home, 
He secured rare flowers and adorned his yard with every variety 
of tree that could 1)e grown in tlie locality. He died in 1848 in the 
very meridian of his career. His early demise was a great loss 
to his native county in its social, physical and educational interests. 

Dr. John W. Holloway. 

Dr. John \\\ Holloway. who represented Jessamine county in 
the Constitutional Convention of 1890. and who took a promi- 
nent ]:iart in the deliberations of that body, was a son of Spencer 
TTolloway, and was born in the county on the 30th of April. 1823. 



248 History of Jesmmine County, Kentucky. 

His grandfather, James Holloway. was a native of Virginia, and 
was a captain in the Revolutionar}- war, and settled in Jessamine 
county very early in its history. His son, Spencer Holloway, 
was born in 1792, and died at the advanced age of 89, in the year 
1883. His son, Joihn W. Holloway, passed his early life on a farm. 
At 23 years of age he went to Louisville and undertook the study 
of medicine under Dr. John L. Price and remained there three 
years, and finally graduated in 1850, from the Medical Depart- 
ment of the University of Louisville. 

From that time on to the present he has practiced medicine at 
Keene. He has met with uncjualified success in his profession as 
well as in his conduct of a large farm. He is a man of strong 
mental vigor, truest friendship, unflinching courage and highest 
integrity. 

In the Constitutional Convention he earnestly advocated 
eqtial property rights for women and bitterly opposed the ballot 
system. While the convention did not adopt his views they all 
respected his sincerity, his integrity and his imusual courtesy. 

Letcher Saunders, 

Air. Saunders was born in Nicholasville on October 29, 1864. 
His father, C. R. Saunders, died in Xicholasville in 1874. Air. 




Saunders was educated in the common schools of Xicholasville. 
He is one of the most expert penmen and careful clerks that have 
ever served the people of Jessamine. He was a pupil of Prof. A. 
N. Gordon, while principal of Bethel Academy, and when six- 




DR. J. W. HOLLOWAY. 



Hidoi'ii of Je-'<sandiie Omnfy, Ke)ituckij. 24i> 

teen years of age, he entered the Circuit Court Clerk's office as 
deputy of Lewis D. ]>akKvin. Subsequently he became clerk in 
the general freight offices of the Louisville & Xashville R. R. Co., 
at Louisville. He returned to Nicholasville in 1885, and one month 
after his return he was nominated for Circuit Clerk at the Demo- 
cratic primary, defeating his competitor by a handsome majority. 
His conduct of the office was such that he was nominated without 
opposition for a second term. As Circuit Clerk he took the front 
rank in Kentucky. He married the daughter of Jas. W. Glass, of 
Garrard county, January i, 1887. His grandfather, Austin 
Smithers. during the epidemic of cholera in 1855 went through 
the tents visiting the side and caring for the dead and dying. 
White and black alike received his attention, and he never wearied 
in waiting on those who needed his services during that terrible 
scourge. Mr. Saunders comes of an ancestry full of humane and 
noble characteristics, and his popularity is undoubtedly the result 
of these inherited qualities. 

G. W, Lyne. 

Few men have done more for Jessamine county than Mr. G. 
W. Lyne. He has been engaged in the real estate business, and 
his enthusiasm and energy have enabled him during that period 
I0 dispose of $2,000,000 worth of property and he has been in- 
strumental in inducing a large number of strangers \o settle in 
the county. Mr. Lyne is comparatively a young man, only thirtv- 
one \'ears of age. He is a successful auctioneer and is the onlv 
man who ever made the real estate business in Jessamine county 
a success. 

William W. White. 

William W. WHiite, who died at his residence, in Xicholasville, 
on Januar}' 5, 1887, in the 8oth year of his age, was one of the 
most earnest supporters of the doctrines of Alexander Campbell 
and was instrumental in buikling up several congregations of 
that faith in the county. He organized what is known as the 
Little Hickman church on the 27th of January. 1841. He was a 
son of William G. White, who came from Culpeper Court House, 



250 Hidory of Jessamine Cotinty, Kentuckij. 

Va. He became impressed with the doctrines propounded by 
Mr. Campbell and from the time of his uniting vv'ith that denomi- 
nation until the end of his life g-ave his time and talents and 
energy to building up the church which adopted them. His 
membership was in the Nicholasville Christian church. How- 
ever people might differ with Mr. White in his theological views, 
none ever doubted the earnestness and the faithfulness of his 
Christian service and of the unselfishness of his ministration. He 
was plain, simple-hearted and earnest. While engaged in othei 
business, he preached always as occasion offered and never failed 
to respond to such calls as his church made upon him. 



Rev. Thomas R. Welch, D. D. 

Rev. Thomas R. Welch, D. D., one of the leading Presby- 
terian ministers of the Southern Presbyterian church, the son 
of John Welch and B. J. Rice, was born near Xicholasville, Sep- 
tember 15th, 1825. ]\Iost of his ministerial life was passed in 
Arkansas, where he removed in 1851, and took charge of the 
church in Little Rock. After a course in Bethel Academy, he 
graduated from Center College in 1844, and in 1870, his Alma 
Mater conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. Dr. 
Welch was singularly honored by his church. He held many 
positions of trust in its courts and institutions. He led a busy 
and successful life. P*ossessed of a fine presence, genial manners 
and ready sympathy, he found a welcome everywhere. Another 
has said of him : 

"By long residence, abundant labors, eminent administrative 
ability, Dr. Welch is the Presbyterian Nestor of Arkansas, and no 
man in the state is held in higher esteem or wields a stronger in- 
fluence." 

He died a few years since, deeply regretted by the people of 
the great denomination to which he belonged and sincerely 
mourned by the members of his own congregation at Little 
Rock. 

Mrs. Sarah Withers, an aunt of Dr. Welch, and long a resi- 
dent of Bloomington, Illinois, was a most benevolent, charitable 
and earnest Christian woman. At her death, a few vears since. 



Hidory of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 251 

she made the officers of the Xicholasville Presbyterian church 
her resichiarv legatees, and directed that tlie funds thus be- 
Cjueathed should be used for the maintenance of a public library 
in Xicholasville. Quite a large sum. estimated at about $20,000, 
will be realized and it will l)e sufficient to equip and maintain a 
comjilete and efficient librar}- in the city. 



Maj. J. H. Hanly. 

Alaj. John Hay Hanly, born in Seville, Spain, in 1784, wdio 
settled in Jessamine county, in 1871, was the son of an officer of 
the British army. 

On his arrival at his new home, in what was then the far west, 
he purchased a very large tract of land on the Kentucky river, 
six miles south of Xicholasville. Hi.^ house, a frame cottage of 
liberal dimensions, located on a bluff many feet above the river, 
was appropriately named "Cliff Cottage." Its picturesque beauty 
of location excited the admiration of the distinguished painter. 
Mealy, who visited ]^Iaj. Hanly, when sent by the king, Louis 
Pliillippe, of France, to paint the portrait of Henry Clay. On 
entering the grounds, he is said to have exclaimed, "Grand and 
beautiful." 

It was at this home of beauty that the generous proprietor and 
his estimable family dispensed old time Kentucky hospitality, dur- 
ing a period of more than half a century. 

Maj. Hanly was a very positive character, highly intellectual, 
just in all his dealings, truthful, honest, and brave; he was, in all 
the elements that constitute a gentleman of the old scliool, a man 
to be admired and trusted. He was a firm believer in the Roman 
Catholic faith and in the democracy of Andrew Jackson. He 
was a fine shot, and prided himself upon the accuracy of his aim. 

On one occasion. Col. David Goodloe, who had been chal- 
lenged by Mr. White, '\[. C, of Madison county, to fight a duel, 
came to Maj. Hanly to practice with the major's dueling pistols. 
He became so expert, after considerable practice, as to hit the bull's 
eye repeatedly. \\'hen the duel finally came off, his antagonist 
stood with his back to a barn. Both gentlemen were game and 
fired at the word. X either were hit, and much to their disgust, 



252 



Hidory of Jessamine County Kentucky. 



Major Hanly, after a most diligent search, failed to find that the 
colonel's bullet had even struck the barn. 



John A. Willis. 

John A. Willis, son of Capt. W. T. Willis, while not a native of 
Jessamine, has resided within its borders for fifty-five years. 
He was born in Green county on the Sth dav of August, 1820; 




attended a seminary at Greensburg, and afterwards at Munfords- 
ville, and in 1839 attended St. Mary's College, near Lebanon. He 
joined the Presbyterian church in Greensburg in 1840, came with 
his father to Mercer county and studied law and obtained his 
license in 1843, and moved with his father to Nicholasville in 
1844. He enlisted in his father's company, gnd was appointed a cor- 



Hidori/'of JcMainlne Cotddi/, Kentucki/. 253 

poral. He followed the Second Kentucky Regiment in all its 
battles and marches, and was mustered out at New ( )rleans in 
1847. While the regiment was stationed at Comargo, Mr. Willis 
was stricken with fever, and all thought that it was impossible for 
him to live. After the death of McKee and Clay and Captain 
Willis, the regiment were anxious to be mustered out of the 
service, and, at the expiration of twelve months, the time for 
which they were enlisted, they were brought to New Orleans and 
disbanded. 

l\Ir. Willis, after taking a full course in the Commercial Col- 
lege, in Cincinnati, returned to Nicholasville and taught in Keene. 
After two years' service in the county schools, he became assistant 
in Bethel Academy, in Xicholasville. After this time he was a])- 
pointed Master Commissioner of tlic Jessamine Circuit Court l)y 
Judge William C. (ioodloe, upon the unanimous petition of the 
entire bar, eml:)racing l>otli W^iigs and Democrats. The place 
was given to Mr. Willis without any solicitation on his part, and 
he retained it for sixteen years. After the close of the civil war 
he was elected twice as County Clerk, both times without oppo- 
sition. A one-armed Confederate soldier was nominated against 
him in the last race, but withdrew. 

I'])on retiring from the Clerk's of^ce in 1871 with such citi- 
zens as Mr. George Brown. Dr. Brown Young. G. S. Shanklin, 
Samuel Muir, Charles h^arra. Hervey Scott, and William H. Hoo- 
ver, he organized the First National Bank of Nicholasville. and 
acted as its cashier from 1871 until 1881, when he was elected 
president, and held this position until 1896. He was electe'l 
elder in the Nicholasville Presbyterian church at the same time 
with Roibert Young, in the year 1859. In i860 he was elected 
clerk of the session, shortl}- before the death of Maj. D. B. Price, 
and has been such clerk for thirty-two years. 

Patriotic, honest, faithful, just, conservative and kindly, Mr. 
Willis has been a leading citizen of Jessamine count}- since his 
return from service in the Mexican War, to which he gave his 
father and one vear of hard and trving service. 



254 Hidory of Jemamine County, Kentucky. 

William Brown. 

William Brown, the youngest son of George I. Brown, was 
born in Nicholasville on the 23d of May, 1839; he died June i, 
J 890. He was a man of brilliant parts. He allied himself with 
the Republican party, and attained a high place in its councils. 
Senator James B. Beck said of him that he was the strongest man 
of his party with whom he had ever come in contact. He was a 
warm, personal friend of James G. I'laine, who had a great ad- 
miration for his talents and his ability. His mind was analytic, 
comprehensive and logical. At school he did not appear to study 
as other boys, btit he always knew his lessons and fuilv under- 
stood every sul:)ject of which the text books treated. He was 
fearless and on many occasions eloquent. Had he devoted him- 
self to the law, his chosen profession, rather than to have entered 
the domain of politics, he would have become one of the firsi 
jurists of the country. 

E. R. Sparks. 

No history of Jessamine county would be complete without a 
sketch of Hon. E. R. Sparks. His enterprise, coupled with his 
faith in the future of Nicholasville, and his large investments, both 
in manufactories and in tlie laving out of additions and construc- 
tion of streets and houses, have been greatlv instrumental in in- 
creasing the population of Nicholasville, and in widening its in- 
fluence and trafhc. He was liorn al:)Out a mile east of Nicholas- 
ville on the 31st of January, 1840, and was the son of Isaac and 
Mary Ann Hendricks Sparks. His mother was a sister of the late 
Rev. John T. Hendrick, D. D., the distinguished Presbyterian di- 
vine. Mr. Sparks' father was born in Ohio and in early life moved 
to Jessamine countv, where he lived until his death, on Jan. 28th, 
1887, in his eighty-first year. Mr. Sparks was named for a dis- 
tinguished iMcthodist minister. Rev. Edwin Roberts. From his 
early manhood he has demonstrated himself to be the possessor 
of great sagacity, and his uniform success in all his financial trans- 
actions has given him a wide reputation for business capacity. 
He has held few public offices. In 1882, he was elected State 



Hidory of Jessamine Counti/, Kentnckii. 



255 



Senator and served until 1886. In the Senate he was popular, 
conservative, and secured the confidence and the respect of those 
associated with him in that body. P^or years he was a council- 
man, and was prominent in the city government of Nicholasville. 
He has carried on a large manufactory for hemp in the county 




seat, which gives employment to a number of hands. He is in 
the highest degree public spirited, and is always helpful to his town 
and his county in every public enterprise. 



John Harrison Welch. 

John Harrison Welch, although comparatively a young man, 
has held quite a number of public of^ces in Jessamine county and 
is at present Master Commissioner of the Jessamine Circuit 
Court. He was born in Nicholasville. His great grandfather, 



256 



HkUn-y of Jesmmine Cowdij, Kentucky. 



John Welch, early settled in Jessamine county, having- removed 
from Virginia to that county in 1782. Mr. Welch was educated 
at Bethel Academy; was also a graduate of Kentuckv Weslevan 
College, at Millers'burg, in 1877. He graduated from the Louis- 
ville Law School in 1881, located in Xicholasville, where he has 
since practiced his profession. At twenty vears of age, he was 
elected Superintendent of common schools of Jessamine county. 




He represented the county in the lower house of the General As- 
sembly of Kentucky, in 1889 and 'go, in '91, '92 and '93, and has 
been prominent in the county affairs since his majority. 



Rev. George Stokes Smith. 

Reverend George Stokes Smith was a l>aptist preacher and 
was also a delegate to the convention, at Danville, in 1792, which 



History of Jexmmlne Gountif, Kfiitucky. 



257 



framed the first Kentucky Constitution. He was the maternal 
grandfather of the large and numerous family of Moselevs, Wal- 
lers and SmitliS, who live in the Keene neighborhood. He has 
over 25c descendants in Kentucky, and was one of the men who 
lived in ilie limits t>f Jessamine county in the earliest days of its 
settlenieni. 

Pie \\a> a .'ucco^sful I'aptist preacher, and served several 
churches in Woodford and Mercer counties, and at the old Mount 
Pleasant Churcli, at Keene. He led a useful, honiorafole and dis- 
tinguished life. IrJis election to the Constitutional Convention 
in 1792, shows his wkI'? popularity and his distinguished position. 
Fayette county had five members, and among them men of high 
standing, but none wielded more influence than their ministerial 
colleague. 




CHA.S. EVANS. 



258 



HIdorij of Je.immhif Owiitij, Keiiiuck[/. 



Hon. Thos. J. Scott. 

Jessamine county is at present in a jnclicial district, composed 
o[ Jessamine. Madison, Estill, Clark and Powell. The Circuit 
Judge is Hon. Thomas J. Scott, who was born in Madison county, 
but his father. Dr. John Scott, was a native of Jessamine county, 
whence his father removed, when (|uite a young man. to Richmond, 




Ky. His mother was a descendant of Col. Estill, one of the most 
celebrated pioneers of Kentucky. Me was educated at Mount 
Pleasant College, in Missouri, from which he graduated at the age 
of nineteen. Tmmediatelv he returned to Richmond, where he 
entered the law office of Maj. Squire Turner; in 1871 he was ad- 
mitted to the bar. and in 1875 was elected County Attorney, to 
which position he was re-elected twice without opposition. In 
1886 he was elected Common Pleas Judge for the district com- 



Hidorij of Jc^mmiiic (Jontiiij, Kcntiickij. 251) 

posed of the counties of Madison, Clark, Bourbon, ijath, and 
iMontgomery ; and in 1892, he was elected Circuit Judge of the 
Twenty-ninth judicial district without opposition, and has been 
similarly re-elected for the second term. He is recognized 
throughout the state as one of the ablest Circuit Judges. His 
careful preparation, his studious habits and his sterling integrity 
render him a model circuit judge. Although genial and kindly 
in his personal relations, on the bench he knows nothing but the 
strictest justice, and this has won for him the respect and admira- 
tion of all the people of the district. 

Rev, Stephen Noland, 

This distinguished Methodist divine was born in Wayne coun- 
ty, Indiana, on the 13th of May, 1818. His ancestors came from 
Wales and settled in A'irginia twenty-five years before the war of 
the American Revolution. In his seventh year, his mother died 
and he was brought to Kentucky, and made his home with his 
grandparents. In 1S34 he entered the clerk's ofifice in Richmond, 
Ky., where he remained five years, He used all his leisure mo- 
ments for the study of law, and was admitted to the bar in 1839. 
He began the practice of his profession in Richmond, and shortly 
removed to Irvine, Estill county, Ky., and there he sought licen- 
sure in the Methodist ministry. In 1839 he married a sister of the 
late Samuel F. Miller, one of the Associate Justices of the Su- 
preme Court of the United States. Rev. Stephen Noland, 
who succeeded his father in the banking business, was the sec- 
ond son — his other son, Samuel H. Noland, removed to Texas. 
Stephen Noland made the race for Commonwealth's Attorney in 
the district, which then embraced seven counties, against C. C. 
Rodgers, of Lexington, and defeated him by a majority of 800 
votes. While holding the office of Commonwealth Attorney, 
he became a terror to evil-doers throughout the district. All 
sorts of influences were brought to bear to defeat Mr. Noland, 
but they were without avail. In 1854 he came to Nicholasville, 
and shortly afterwards assumed charge of the Methodist Episco- 
pal church. South. Notwithstanding the variety of his occupa- 
tions, he never gave up the preaching of the Gospel. 

The first bank in Nicholasville was organized bv Mr, No- 



260 



History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 



land in 1864. it was known as the Bank of Noland, Wilmore & 
Co. He was a man of great sagacity and judgment in the con- 
duct of his business; of wide benevolence and charitable impulses, 
he has probably given away as much money in charitv as any man 
who ever lived in Jessamine. His second wife, Miss Virginia 
Brown, daughter of Thos. J. Brow:i, who inherited the many 




excellent traits of her family, survived him. He died on the 27th 
of January. 1890, after a lingering illness, and deeply regretted 
by the entire community, among whom he spent the last forty 
vears of his life. 



The Duncans, 

Among the earliest settlers in Jessamine county were James 
Duncan and Charles Duncan. They located within the boundary 
of Jessamine early in 1788. Charles Duncan was born in Cul- 
peper county, Va., in 1761. He was the father of William Dun- 



History of Je><sa) nine Coioify, Kentucky. 261 

can, so long known, who died at his home inmiediately above 
Nicholasville in 1863. WilHani Dnncan's mother was Margaret 
Burnside, sister of the Revolutionary soldier, Robert Burnside, 
the great uncle of Gen. A. E. Buirnside. William Duncan was 
born near Barclay's old mill in 1788. In 18 13 he married Nancy 
Blackford, daugliter of Benj. Blackford. 

James Duncan, the grandfather of S. M. Duncan, was born 
in Culpeper county, \'a., July 18, 1763, and was among the last 
white men killed by the Indians. With two companions, John 
Huckstep and Joseph Burnside, he w^ent to the mouth of Paint 
Lick to get salt. They had made the salt and were returning 
home, when suddenly the report of a gun was heard and Burnside 
fell with a bullet through his heart. James Duncan was sliot bv 
another Indian who had climbed up on a high bluff, and the bullet 
entered the head of James Duncan, killing him instantly. Huck- 
step escaped to Crab Orchard, where Col. Whitley sent out a party 
in pursuit of the Indians and followed them to near Cumberland 
Gap. They captured the horses of the two men who had been 
killed, but the Indians made their escape. 

Alexander C. Duncan, the father of S. M. Duncan, was the 
oldest child of James Duncan, who was killed in his 28th year 
and left three small children. When a small boy James Duncan 
ran away from home in company witli Nathaniel Harris, the dis- 
tinguished Methodist minister, and enlisted in the army of Gen- 
eral Greene, and was at the battle of Guilford Court House and 
at the siege of Yorktown. James Duncan was born July 18, 1763, 
and was married to Mary Crockett, daughter of William Crockett, 
of Wythe county, in 1787. One hundred years after the death of 
Jan es Duncan, there came a great rise in the creeks which enter 
Paint Lick. They disclosed a skeleton. On examination of this 
skeleton a bullet hole was found in the head and the remains were 
identified as those of. James Duncan, who had been killed and 
buried at that point nearly a century before. Every bone was per- 
fect with the exce])tion of the right foot. The remains were re- 
moved to Nicholasville cemetery and laid to rest amid kindred 
dust. 

The descendants of James Duncan and his brother, who thus 
early made their home in Jessamine county, in large numbers 
still reside in the county and they have always been good citizens 
and patriots. 



262 



HUiorij of Jesmmiite Count ij, Koduckij. 



S. M. Duncan. 

Mr. S. M. Duncan, who has been one of the most diligent, and 
faithful of all the antiquarians in Kentucky, was a son of Alex- 
ander Crockett Duncan and Hannah N. Williams, the latter be- 
ing- a native of Mecklenburg county North Carolina. She was 
born March 8, 1793, and died in t86t. Mr. Duncan's father was 




born in Fort Blackamore, Russell county, A'irginia, and came to 
Jessamine county in 1788. He was an infant when his father, 
James Duncan, settled within the limits of Jessamine county. 
S. M. Duncan was born in Pulaski county, in 1830. He enjoyed 
limited advantages oi education, but most wonderfully improved 
tliem — lie only had three months' schooling. He worked for 
thirty years at his trade as carpenter, and learned cabinet-mak~ 
ing, which he followed five years, but afterwards gave that up and 



Hi^torij of Jes.^(())}l))e CoHntij Keiituckii- 263 

returned to his original calling. Me has gathered together an 
immense amount of material concerning" not onlv the earliest his- 
tory of Jessamine county and its people, but in regard to the early 
history of Kentucky. He has al\va\s had a passion for acquir- 
ing old letters and documents, and. l)ut for his patience and care 
and labor, not only in the finding, but in the preservation, of ma- 
terials, it would have been impossible for any one to write a his- 
tory of [essamine county. Mr. Duncan began this collection of 
material when cjuite a young man. He talked with men who had 
been in the Revolutionary War, and to those who had in their 
minds fresh recollections of the struggles, trials and dangers of 
l)ioneer life m Kentucky. He has written a great deal on the sub- 
ject, and deserves the thanks of the people, not (jnly of Jessamine 
count}', but of Central Kentucky. 

Andrew Hemphill. 

Andrew Hemph.ill was one of the most scholarly men that 
lived in Jessamine coimty in its early davs. He lived in the 
southern part of the coimty. settling there in 1823. He was born 
in Tyrone county, Ireland, in iSoo. He obtained his education at 
Trinity College. Dublin, and came to American in 1819, landing 
at Philadelphia. In a very short time he was chosen as teacher 
of Latin, in an acadeni}' in the city of Reading, in Berks county, 
and subsequently became principal of the academy, which posi- 
tion he held for two years. He settled in Jessamine county in 
1823, and was married to Mildred Tapp. He came to Jessa- 
mine county through his uncle James Hemphill who had pur- 
chased a farm in that section of the county many years before. 
In 1823 James Hemphill died and made Andrew his heir, devis- 
ing to him 250 acres of land on Hickman creek six miles east of 
Nicholasville. Mr. Hemphill through all his life retained his 
scholarship. He read Latin and Greek with great fluency. He 
died in 1863. 

It was his custom for many years to visit the schools in which 
the classics were taught. These comings were alwavs regarded 
by the Latin and Greek scholars with fear and trembling. While 
he was there he would call upon them to read selections from 
the Roman and Grecian authors. The scholars imagined that 



264 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 

they could never do the thing" just as Mr. Hemphill would do it; 
}et he was always kindly, helpful and suggestive in his examina- 
tions, and never went away from the schooils without saying 
pleasant and agreeable words to the scholars. He was the 
father of a large family of children, many of whom are now resi- 
dents of Jessamine county, and are among its best and most sub- 
stantial citizens. 

Mr. John Henry Glass. 

Mr. John Henry Glass, who now owns Glass Mills, near Wil- 
more, was born in 1838, of C German parentage, in Jessamine coun- 
ty. After going to school during his boyhood in Cincinnati, he 
learned the trade of cabinetmaker, with Jiis father, wiho was one 
of the most skilled mechanics who ever lived in Jessamine county. 
In 1870 Mr. (ilass erected a mill in Lancaster, Ky., which is still 
in successful operation. Afterwards he sold out to George 
Denny, the president of the national bank, and moved back to 
Jessamine and bought the property known as the old paper mill, 
on Jessamine creek, about three miles above its mouth. This 
mill had been operated for more than 100 years. After running 
it about three years he tore part of it down and erected a new 
building and put in new machinery, retaining, however, the water 
power, which had been in constant use for more than a century. 

This mill is ojjerated all the year round, has its office and 
switch at Wilmore, Ky., and is one of the best manufacturing 
enterprises in Jessamine county. It has a large trade up and 
down the Cincinnati Southern Railroad, and its brands of flour 
are considered among the very best manufactured in the West. 
The principal of these, "The Daniel Boone," shows Mr. Glass' 
patriotism. Mr. Glass has been instrumental in building ten 
miles of turnpike in the western part of the county and in furnish- 
ing a constant and liberal home demand for grain, which has 
much increased land values in that section. Blessed with a large 
family, he has trained them both to industry and morality, and he 
is one of the useful men of the communitv. 



Hidory of JexKaminc Coniiti/, Kentnckij. 



2U5 



Benjamin A. Crutcher. 

Uenjamin A. Criitcher. tlie present Commonwealth's Attor- 
ney for the Twenty-fifth Judicial district, which includes Jessa- 
mine, Madison, Estill, Clark, and Powell counties, was born in 
Nicholasville, June 21, 1856. Elected County Attorney in 1884, 
he resigned to become a candidate for Conuuonwealth's Attor- 




ney. Ele was re-elected Conuuonwealth's Attorney in 1897. He 
is a man of conservative instincts, careful preparation, unques- 
tionable honesty and great industrw He has proven a most ad- 
mirable Prosecutinf:^ Attorney, firm, faithful, yet considerate and 
just, he represents the commonwealtli as if he were representing 
his own afifairs, and the entire district recognizes his great effi- 
cienc\- and abilitv. 



26G 



History of Jemivilne Comihj, Kentucki/. 



Thomas B. Crutcher. 

The Hon. Thos. B. Crutcher is now Police Judge of Nicho- 
lasville. He was born in Jessamine county in 1831. He is the 
fatlier of Benj. A. Crutcher, the Commonweakh's Attorney for the 
district. For a long time he was one of the leading merchants in 




Jessamine. He is a man of the old school, upright, conscientious, 
always considerate to others. For five years he has JDeen Judge of 
the City Court of Nicholasville, and has made a most excellent 
record. He is a member of the Plrst Baptist church and is one 
of its most earnest and enthusiastic supporters. 



John Spears Bronaugh. 

John Spears Bronaugh was born in the Keene neighborhood 
and spent his early years on his father's farm. With a vigorous 
constitution as well as a vigorous mind, he improved all his edu- 



Hhtortj of Je.f^amliH' Coiatfi;,, Kmiiickij 



2(57 



cational advantages, and attended college at Transylvania Uni- 
versity, at Lexington. He read law with Judge James Prior, 
near Carrollton, Ky. Faithful, studious, patient and lahorious, 
when admitted to the bar in 1847, ^^ Nicholasville, he was well 
prepared for the practice of his profession. For more than half 
a century he has lieen prominent in all the litigation wliich af- 
fected the ])eople of Jessamine, and liy his good judgment, his 




great learning and wise counsel, he has endeared himself to the 
whole community, and secured a high place in the estimation of 
his fellow-citizens. At a time when the government of Xicholas- 
ville needed a strong hand and an economical administration, Mr. 
Bronaugh was called by the voice of his townsmen to assume the 
duties of the Mayoralty. He evolved order out of chaos, sys- 
tematized all the afifairs of the city government and as executive 
officer so conducted himself and the affairs of the town that it 



268 



HUtovy of Je.<mmhie Coiuity, Kentucky. 



was with difficulty he could avoid the solicitations of the voters 
to hold the office always, and it was only his persistent refusal to 
accept the office which caused the people of the town to elect an- 
other man. He has always stood for the best interests of the 
county and town, and while conservative, he had been enterpris- 
ing and has been a leader in all that has brought the county to 
its present prosperity and splendid development. The county 
has trusted him in man}- important transactions and he has al- 
ways conducted them with prudence, skill and ability. 




THOS. J. BROWN. 



Hidonj of Je!<samhie Count y, KcntHcky. 



2G9 



Robert Curd^ Esq., 

Is one of the ^Magistrates of the county and resides in the 
neighborhood of Wihnore station. Successful in business, kind- 
ly in manner, faithful in hrs of^cial life, he commands, as he de- 




serves, the support and confidence of his district. Whatever is 
for the best interests of the whole county always has his hearty 
approval and assistance. 



Levi Luther Todd. 

The Levi Luther Todd referred to in the minutes of the 
town of Nicholasville, was born in Lexington. Kv., July 26, 1791. 
He was educated at Transylvania L^niversity, and practiced law 
several vears. He served with distinction in the war of 1812. 



270 Hidori/ of Je.'<samiiie Count;/, Kentiickij. 

He removed to Lafayette. Ind.. in 1833, and there held a dis- 
tinguished judicial position. 

In 1867 he came to Lexington and presented to the Masonic 
Grand Lodge, of Kentucky, then in session there, the sword and 
belt of Col. Joseph Hamilton Daveiss. which were worn by Col. 
Daveiss when he was killed, in the battle of Tippecanoe, on the 
7th of November, 1811. He died near Indianapolis, in 1867. 

Dr. T. R. Welch. 

C)n the one-hundredth anniversary of the existence of Nicho- 
lasville. Jessamine county is part of the Senatorial district in 
which are included Woodford and Scott counties. The Senator 
from this district is Thomas R. Welch, AI. D., an able and success- 
ful homeo])athic physician, now residing in Xicholasville, in 
which place he was born on the 4th of February, i860. 

He was educated at Bethel Academy under Professor Gordon, 
and is a graduate of the Wesleyan College, He taught in the city 
schools of Nicholasville and graduated from the Hahnemann Col- 
lege in 1885, and from that time on has practiced in Jessamine 
countv. He is a member of the Board of Examiners for the 
schools of the county, of the Nicholasville Board of Education, 
the State Homeopathic Association and of the American Institute 
of Homeopathy. He is also a member of the Baptist church and 
of the Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias. 

He has been earnest and faithful in the discharge of his duties 
in his profession. In 1879 the Twenty-second Senatorial district, 
of which Jessamine was a part, became a political battle-ground. 
It was the home district of the Hon. J. C. S. Blackburn, and the 
Hon. Henry L. Alartin was nominated on a platform antagonistic 
to Senator Blackburn's views. Jessamine county, by courtesy, 
was entitled to name the Democratic candidate, and a strong 
popular man was required. By a unanimous demand Dr. Welch 
was called to make the race for Blackburn. His majority in the 
district was 2,454, an extraordinary manifestation of the confi- 
dence of the people of the district. Jessamine county gave him 
an almost unprecedented majority of 977 votes. His conduct in 
the legislature justified the confidence of his district. He took a 
prominent part in the deliberations of that historical legislature. 




DR. T. R. WELSH. 



Hixfoni of J('!<x(iiitinr Con lit ij, Kiiitnchij. .''271 

Harrison Daniel. 

Harrison Daniel was fcjr many years one of the most promi- 
nent citizens of Jessamine connty. He was the grandson of Col. 
John Price, and l)orn in 1 7yo. His father, John Daniel, was a 
native of Orange connty, Mrginia, and came to Kentncky in the 
year 1787. He was related to the Daniels in the northern neck 
of \'irginia, and family history says that he served in the army 
of General Washington at Brandywine, Trenton and Monmonth. 
He settled on Alarble creek and here his son was born. In the 
early history of Kentncky Mr. Daniel was a nseful and important 
character. He was High Sh.eriff and represented Jessamine 
connt}- in the legislatnre in 1826. He possessed extraordinary 
mathematical talents. His son, William Daniel, went to the 
Mexican war in the company of Captain ^^'illis. He had a won- 
derful facult}- for making and keeping friends, and many of his 
descendants still remain in Jessamine county, whose people their 
ancestor so faithfully served. 



Dr. John C. Welch. 

Dr. John C. A\'elch was born in Jessamine county in 1823. 
He practiced medicine for forty years in the county, except dur- 
ing his service for four years as surgeon of the Twentieth Ken- 
tucky volunteer infantry. In 1863 he was promoted to brigade 
surgeon. In 1877 and 1879 he represented Jessamine county in 
the lower house of the legislature. He was a brother of Dr. 
Thomas Iv. Welch, the distinguished Presbvterian divine. 



George Brown. 

George I'rown was born in Xicholasville on February 28, 
1819, and died October 30, 1897. He first attended school at 
St. Joseph's, Bardstown, Ky., afterward at Center College, Dan- 
ville and finally at Transylvania University in Lexington. Upon 
leaving college he at once engaged in the business of the manu- 
facture of hem]i. His father had been one of the pioneers in hemp 
manufacture in Lexington and the son acquired a practical 



"272 History of Jesmmine County, Kentucky. 

knowledge of the business in early life. Owning a large num- 
ber of slaves, which he used in his business, he made it extremely 
profitable and he continued in the manufacture of hemp for 
many years. In the fall of 1853 ^'^^ moved to a farm oh Jessamine 
creek, about two miles from Niclholasville, and in coiijunction 
with his farm operated a hemp manufactory. He married Ann 
M. Hemphill in 1843, "^^'^''o proved to him an afifectionate, faithful 
and helpful wife. She was one of the model housekeepers of Jes- 
samine county and as neighbor and friend had no superior. 

Mr. Brown was a man of intense activity ; domestic in his 
taste, he loved his home and added to it those things which made 
it attractive. He was a model husband and father. When 
twenty-two years of age, he united with the Nicholasville Presby- 
terian church, in the faith of which he continued to the end of his 
life, and at his death he was the oldest living member of the or- 
ganization. He was converted under the preaching of Rev. 
David Todd. He was ef^cient and earnest in his Christian work 
and was always one of the liberal and helpful members of the con- 
gregation. He was a pure, good man; long president of the 
Jessamine County Bible Society, he was not only active but use- 
ful in the Bible work and has left behind him no enemies and a 
host of friends. 



Gen. Samuel Dickerson Jackman. 

Gen. Samuel Dickerson Jackman was a Brigadier-General in 
the Confederate Army of Missouri. He was born in Nicholas- 
ville in the brick house on the left hand side of the road leading 
to Sulphur Well, and opposite the present house of Thos. B. 
Crutcher, Sept. 18, 1825. He was a courageous soldier, vigorous 
and active in the field, and was extremely successfuly in his raids 
on the Federal lines in Missouri during the war. His mother 
was the daughter of David Dickerson, and he served in the War 
of 1812. His father. Dr. John Jackman, left Jessamine county 
and settled in jNIissouri in 1831. General Jackman removed 
from Missouri at the close of the war, to Texas, where he died in 
1893. He amassed a large fortune and died childless. 



History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 



278 



Judge Wm. H. Phillips. 

It is a remarkable fact that every ofificehokler in Jessamine 
county, upon the occasion of the centennial of its capital city, was 
born and reared in the comity. Judge Wm. H. Phillips, who is 
County Judge, has held that oflfice longer than any man who ever 
had it. He was born in Jessamine county on the 30th of March, 
1838. His education was received at the common schools, and 




the early part of his life was passed on a farm. He attended 
Bethel Academy as a student, coming from his father's home, in 
Nicholasville. From the time of his earliest manhood to 1874 
he was an industrious farmer, and he never sought office but was 
a faithful and efficient worker for his father. In that vear he was 
nominated for County Judge. The nomination was to some ex- 
18 



274 Hisfori/ of Jexmmbie County, KentKcky. 

tent unexpected by him and unsoug-ht. At that time tlie Demo- 
cratic nominees were considered the leaders of a forlorn hope ; 
the Republican party was organized and had able leaders, and all 
the county offices were held by them ; but Judge Phillips was 
elected by a majority of fourteen votes, and the Circuit Court 
Clerk was chosen by the same majority. The rest of the Demo- 
cratic ticket was defeated. In 1878 Judge Phillips was again 
elected, although opposed by the strongest man in the Repub- 
lican party, and also by an independent Democrat; then his ma- 
jority was 26 votes. In 1882 he was elected without opposition, 
and he has held the office of County Judge for 23 years. His an- 
cestors were Huguenots, who came- from the James river, and set- 
tled in Kentucky about 1790. His official career is unusual and 
extraordinary, and manifests the high esteem in which he is 
held by the people of his native county. His official acts have 
stood the closest scrutiny, and his numerous endorsements by the 
voters is a testimonial of the highest character. 



Dr. Alexander K. Marshall. 

Dr. Alexander K. Marshall was a member of Congress from 
the Ashland Disirict in 1855. He was the third son of Dr. Louis 
Marshall, who was the youngest brother of Chief-Justice John 
Marshall. Louis Marshall lived in \\'oodford county, at a place 
called Buck Pond. There Alexander K. Marshall was born the 
nth of February, ]8o8. He studied medicine and at the age of 
25 came to Nicholasville and practiced his profession, which he 
did with marked success. He united with John G. Chiles in 
1842, in operating a stage and mail line through the Kentucky 
mountains to Bean Station, Tenn., and continued in this business 
for more than 20 years. This, however, did not prevent him 
from practicing his profession. 

He was a man of fine presence and of courage in the state- 
ment of his convictions. He represented Jessamine county in 
the Constitutional Convention of 1849, defeating George I. Brown 
by 80 majority. He was elected to Congress on the Know 
Nothing ticket, defeating James O. Harrison, a distinguished 
Lexington lawyer, by over 1,500 majority. He died ui Fayette 
countv in 1886. 



History of Je.^mmine Coiiidy, Keidueki/. 



275 



James Willlard Mitchell, 

The present County Attorne}', James Willard Mitchell, was 
born in Nicholasville, in 1861. His father, Jas. T. Mitchell, was 
eldest son of Dr. Geo. W. Mitchell ; his mother was the third 
daughter of the late Thomas Jefterson and Mary Jane Wallace 
Brown, \\ho was the eldest daughter of Joseph Wallace, son of 
Capt John A\'allace. Captain John Wallace was one of the most 




distinguished of the Revolutionary soldiers who came to Jessa- 
mine. He served with General Washington and General Wayne ; 
he was at the battles of Brandywine, Trenton, Monmouth, Long 
Island, and was with Washington at Valley Forge. 

No man in Jessamine county commands in a higher degree the 
confidence of his fellow-citizens and no one is capable of arousing 
more enthusiasm in his party and among his friends. He has 



276 History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 

great will force, unflinching energy, and has been often compared 
to Gen. Joseph Wheeler, whom he is not unlike in stature and 
appearance. 

Mr. Mitchell was elected County Attorney by a large and flat- 
tering majority. The County Attorneyship was the first position, 
to which Mr. Mitchell was elected and he fills it wdth credit to him- 
self and to his constituents. He is a man also of fine business 
capacity, thorough reading and preparation, great punctuality in 
the discharge of his official and personal business. Few men are 
more eloquent or efifective on the stump. He understands hu- 
man nature, and is destined if he chooses to follow public life, to 
become a leader of men. 

He married Miss Annie Anderson, daughter of Capt. Samuel 
M. Anderson, He is thoroughly identified wath the people of 
Jessamine, and they, in turn, feel a just pride in his success and 
his attainments in his profession. 



Francis M, Bristow 

Was born in Clark county, Ky., on the nth of August, 1804. 
He lived for twenty-six years on the farm now occupied by Mrs. 
Mary Ann Bourne, three miles east of Nicholasville. He w^as 
well educated, studied law, and divided his time between his pro- 
fession and farm. He early moved to Todd county with his 
father, who had settled in Jessamine county in the year 1790. 
In 1830-31 Mr. Bristow was elected to the Kentucky Legislature, 
in 1846 to the State Senate, and was a member of the State Con- 
stitutional Convention in 1849. ^^ ^^^54 he was elected Repre- 
sentative in Congress to fill the unexpired term of Presley Ewing, 
and in 1859 was again elected as Representative from Kentucky 
to the 36th Congress. 

His son, Benjamin H. Bristow, served with distinction in the 
Federal army, afterwards became Solicitor-General, W3.s a can- 
didate for President before the Republican party, was long a. 
resident of Louisville, but moved from that city to New York, 
where he has achieved distinction and success in the practice ot 
law. 

Frances M. Bristow died at Elkton, Ky., January 10, 1864. 



History of Jemamine County, KeidKcky. 



277 



Curd Lowry, County Clerk. 

Curd Lowry, the present county clerk of Jessamine county, is 
the third son of the late Judge Melvin T. Lowry, who was county 
and circuit clerk for twelve years prior to his death, in 1887. He 
secured the office in opposition to Robt. S. Perry, who had held 
it for sixteen years and his race in this respect was phenomenal. 




He was born November 19, 1862, at the home of his maternal 
grandmother, Mrs. Harrison Daniels. 

He was for two terms deputy clerk under L. D. Baldwin. In 
1887 he moved to Kansas City where he remained two years and 
then returned to a position in the First National Bank. His 
great-grandfather on his mother's side was John Daniels, who 
settled in Fayette county in 1788 and married a sister of Col. 



278 



Hldory of Jei^xam'nte Coiiidij, Kentucky. 



John Price. His paternal grandfather settled in Jessamine 
county long' before its organization. He comes of distinguished 
parentage and lineage and his popularity is the result of his 
kindly heart and gentlemany manner. 

Magistrates of Jessamine County. 

In this, 1898, Jessamine comity is divided into live magisterial 
districts. .Vt the last Xovember election, the gentlemen chosen 
to fill this responsible ofiice were as follows : 

ROBERT CLEMMONS. 

Mr. Clemmons resides at lirannon on the Cincinnati Southern 
Railroad near Favette count v line. He is one of the leadiner 




farmers in Jessamine coimty, and has been elected magistrate 
for several terms He was born in Fayette count}', is about fifty- 
five years of age, and is honest, clear-headed, and a faithful repre- 
sentative of the interests which his fellow-citizens entrust to his 
keeping. 




JUDGE A. W. ROBINSON. 



Hl4onj of Jesxainitie Coioiti/, Kciittickij. 



JAMES T. BARKLEY. 

He resides in Nicholasville. He was tlie son of Mason l>ark- 
ley, who was a large farmer on the Harrodsburg Pike. He was 
born in 1848, and is engaged in the hardware business in Nicholas- 
ville. He is a man who is highly esteemed by his fellow-citizens. 

ALLEN W. ROBINSON 

Resides in the ^larble creek neighborhood. He was a grand- 
son of John Robinson. He is a man who never shrinks from do- 
ing his dut}', and has made a most efficient officer. 

WILSON FAIN 
Lives in the Hickman neighborhood. He is a son of Larkin 
Fain, wdio represented Jessamine county in the Legislature in 
1850-55. He enjoys to an unusual degree the confidence and 
respect of his fellow-citizens in that portion of the county in 
which he resides. 



Col. Wm. A. Lewis. 

Who commanded a regiment from Kentucky at the battle oi 
the Raisin, in 1812, in which regiment were two companies, Gray's 
and Price's, from Jessamine county, w^as long a resident in the 
county. He was born in Mrginia, in 1778, and died in 1835. 
His exposures in the War of 181 2 brought on rheumatism, anrl 
the colds he contracted in the northwestern army settled in his 
eyes and resulted in a total loss of eyesight. He was a gallant 
soldier and a man respected and loved by all the people of the 
county. In the terrible battle of Raisin he showed splendid 
heroism, and a high order of courage, and had his advice been 
followed, the terrible tragedy of that battle would have been 
avoided. 

Allen L. McAfee 

Was long a prominent ])ublic man in Jessamine county. He died 
of cancer of the throat March 16, 1888. He was the second son 
of Col. Robert McAfee, and was born in McAfee, Mercer county, 
on the 15th of August, 1825. He was admitted to the bar in 



280 Hidory of Jesmmine County, Ke)ducky. 

Harrodsl)urg' in 1845, ^"^^ removed to Little Rock, Arkansas, 
where he commenced the practice of his profession. About this 
time the war with Mexico broke out, and he vohmteered as a pri- 
vate in Captain Mean's company of cavalry, which was one of the 
companies in the regiment of Col. Ambrose Yell, who was killed 
at the battle of Buena Vista. In that battle Colonel McAfee bore 
a prominent part in the charge of Humphrey Marshall and Col- 
onel Yell against 6,000 lancers, led by General Mineon, who at- 
tempted to take the American batteries. In the charge in which 
McKee, Clay and Willis were lost, Colonel McAfee saw a Mexi- 
can lancer in the act of killing a wounded soldier. He instantly 
shot the Mexican. He used what was in those days a celebrated 
gun knoAvn as the Mississippi rifle. 

At the close of the Mexican w-ar. Colonel McAfee moved to 
Nicholasville, and married Miss Elizabeth Shely. In 1857 he was 
elected a member of the Kentucky legislature. Early in 1861 
Colonel McAfee was arrested as a Southern sympathizer ; he was 
taken from his home at T2 o'clock at night on the 21st of June, 
and without warrant or charge was carried and lodged in prison 
in Lexington. A writ of habeas corpus was taken out by Frank 
Hunt, Esq., and W. C. P. Breckinridge, Esq., in order to get 
Colonel McAfee before the Federal Court, then in session at 
Frankfort, but the Fedenal officers suspended the writ of habeas 
corpus. On the way to Camp Chase, in Cincinnati, he escaped 
by walking away from the guards, passed through Central Ken- 
tucky and reached the South. He was commissioned lieutenant- 
colonel l)y James A. Seddon, Confederate Secretary of War. In 
1864 he raised a battalion of 300 mounted men, and was with Gen- 
erail Jones in Western Virginia, and helped to defeat General Av- 
trill's rail on Harrodsiburg in 1864. He was severely w^ounded 
in 1862 at Big Creek Gap. He was captured in 1864, and re- 
mained in Camp Douglas until the close of the war. He was a 
magnificent looking man in physical appearanice, and possessed 
a high degree of courage. 

In 1866 he was elected State Senator, defeating Richard Spurr, 
of Fayette, by over 500 votes. 



Hhtorij of Jemnnine Counfii, Kcntndii. 



281 



Andrew McAfee. 

Andrew ^IcAfee, who at present worthily represents his ward 
in the city council, is one of the younger generation of colored 
men, who bv his conduct and character has done much to dis- 




sipate the i)rejudice against the education of his race. He was 
educated in the local schools for his race, and by his energy and 
determination has won the confidence and trust of his con- 
stituents. 



History of Jessamine Couuti/, Kentuekij. 283 



Hon. William R. Welch, 

Long Judge of the Appellate Court of Illiuois, was the son of 
John and Eliza Rice Welch, and was born in Jessamine county, 
one mile south of Nicholasville, in January, 1828. He graduated 
at Transylvania University, in Lexington, and earl}' in his pro- 
fessional life was elected County Attorney of Jessamine county. 
In 1864 he removed to Carlinsville, 111., where he entered upon 
the practice of his profession and at once took high rank as a 
lawyer. Three times he was elected Circuit Judge of the 
district which comprised his home, and was twice appointed 
Appellate Judge, which latter position he was filling at the time 
of his death, in August, 1888. 

A strong partisan, he was always an impartial judge, and it 
was said of him that he had fewer reversals than any Circuit 
Judge in this State. He married Miss Annie Corn, a most lovely 
and charming woman, who also was born in Nicholasville, and 
resided there at the time of her marriage. 



Samuel Thompson Corn 

Was liorn in Nicholasville in 1838. He graduated at Princeton 
College, N. J. He served on Col. Sanders Bruce's staff during 
the war, in the Federal Army, and at its close located at Carlins- 
ville, 111., to which place his brother-in-law, Judge William R. 
Welch, had preceded him. He was twice elected Common- 
wealth's Attorney from his district, and was, in 1884, appointed 
by Grover Cleveland a District Judge of Wyoming Territory. In 
1896 he was elected Chief Justice of the State of Wyoming, and 
now resides in Cheyenne, that state. 



284 



Hixtori/ of Je><mmine Gountij, Kentucky. 



Centennial Exercises, 1898. 

The centennial of Nicholasville was celebrated by the citizens 
of the town and Jessamine county, on the i6th da}^ of September, 
1898. Both the countj^ and the cit)' made public subscriptions 
to the fund necessary for the celebration. The event created un- 




B. M. ARNETT. 
Chairman Executive Committee. 



usual enthusiasm among the people of the count}-, and one of the 
largest crowds ever seen in Central Kentuckj' was assembled on 
this occasion. 

The procession, representing the industrial interests of the city 
and county occupied the morning ; while historical and patriotic 
addre-sses took up the afternoon. 




CHARI^ES DEERING. 



History of Je><'<a)nlne Countij, Ki'iitiichj. 



285 



Louisville, Ciiiciiiii»ti, Lexington, Danville, Versailles, Shelby- 
ville, and other cities and towns sent large delegations to the 
celebration. 

The executive committee, consisting of B. M. Arnett, chair- 
man ; W. L. Steele, J. D. Hughes, H. H. Lowry, Charles Deeriug, 
and J. B. Stears, provided a most interesting program and con- 
ducted the exercises in the most patriotic and pleasing manner. 




Gh'O B. TAYLOR, 
chief Marshal Centennial Celebration. 



Committees of ladies from all parts of the county united in 
completing the arrangements for the great occasion. These 
committees were as follows : 

Hanly— Mrs. Joe Wallace, Mrs. W. J. Wilmore. 

Wilmore — Mrs. John B. Chambers, Mrs. James Hawkins. 

Keene — Mrs. C E. Smith, Mrs. James Sallee. 



286 History of Je<mmi)ie County, Kentucky. 

Nealton — Mrs. Annie Davis, Mrs. E- J. Young. 

Brannou — Mrs. Chas. Smith, Mrs. Len Bryant. 

Logana — Mrs. Chas. Spillman. 

Ambrose — Mrs. Newton Davis. 

Little Hickman — Mrs. J. H. Dean. 

East Hickman — Mrs. Frank Mitchell, Mrs. Henry Muir. 



The following was the program for the occasion : 

1798-1898. 

Jessamine bounty and nicboMsville Centennial 

10/30 a. m.: Street parade under supervision of Chief Marshal 

Geo. B. Taylor, and assistants. 
12 m.: Dinner on Duncan Heights. 
1:30 p. m.: Music by band — " My Country, ' Tis of Thee." 

Prayer by Dr. E Beecher Todd. 

Song, by quartette — "Auld Eang Syne." 

Address of welcome, on behalf of Jessamine count}^ — Judge 
W. H. Phillips. 

Music by band — " Hail, Columbia! Happ}' Land." 

Addre.ss of welcome, in behalf Nicholasville — Maj. W. E- 
Steele. 

Music by band — " Old Kentucky Home." 

Address — Col. Bennett H. Young. 

Song by quartette — " Star Spangled Banner." 

Address — Hon. Evan E- Settle. 

Music bv band — "Dixie." 



INDEX. 



PAdE. 

Adams Mr. , letter un- 
signed 104 

African M. E- Church .... 19S 

Argabrite, Rev. E. \V 190 

Arnett, Chairuiau Board of 
Managers Jessamine Cen- 
tennial Committee .... 2S3 
Asbury, Bishop M. E. Church, 

His Dreams ..... 169 
Asbury, Bishop ISI. E. Church, 

In America 169 

Asbury College, foutided 1S90 171 

Allen, Colonel .... 128 

Artist Price, The Blind, Gen. 

Samuel Woodson . . 232-234 
Act of County Division . . 66-67 
Arnstiger, Michael .... 18-19 
Academy of Bethel 169 



Barry, William T 206-20S 

Barkley, John 22<S-229 

Barkley, James T. 279 

Baptist Church of Nicholas- 
ville . 156 

Baptist Church, Mt. Pleasant, 
with picture 170 

Bethel Academy, Act Incor- 
porating .... 173 

Bethel School Board and Con- 
ference of 1797 . . . 173-174 

Bethany Christian Church Or- 
ganization 193 

Bishops Coke and Asbury in 
1789 ... .... 169 

Biographical Sketches of Emi- 
nent Citizens 200-285 

Bower, Capt. Gustavus, in 
1812 104-120 

Boat Horn, The, poem of . 40-41 

Bragg. General Braxton, at 
Public Well 168 

Brown, Col. George W. . . . 167 



PAGE. 

Brown, Joshua, Soldier, Land- 
lord 167 

Bronaugh, John S-, Commis- 
sioner of Navigation of Ken- 
tucky River . . 155 
Bridge, Engineering of . 152-153 
Bridge at the Mouth of Hick- 
man Creek 152-153 

P.oone, Daniel 12 

Brown, William 254 

Bronaugh, John Spears . . . 267 

Brown, George 1 254 

Brown, George 2'ji 

Bristow,Francis M., Pioneer . 276 
Brown, Thomas J., picture, 168, 268 
Butler, William O., sketch . 80 
Butler, William Q. . . 200 

Burnside General , also 

the Ninth Army Corps U. S- 

at Public Well 168 

Bvichanan, Dr. Joseph, his Ca- 
pillary Steam Engine . . . 163 
Buller, Gen. Percival, sketch 

of 36-41 

Burr, Col. Aaron 25 

Butler, General William O., 

37-41, 199-200 
Burbridge, Gen. S. G. ... 185 
Butler, General William Or- 
lando 37-41 

Blue Lick, battle of 17 

Black's Station, early settle- 
ment 46-47 

Bowman, David 230 

Butler, John 231 

Buena Vista, Soldiers at and 

battle of 235-237 

Brown, George, picture . 271, 159 
Barkle}', James T 279 

Camp Nelson and Gen. Wm. 

Nelson ... ... 185 

Cambry, John, letter to Col. 

S. M. Duncan .... 219-221 



Hldorij of Jemiunne Count;/, Kentucky. 



PAGE 

Capillary Steam Engine and 

Cotton Factory 163 

Central Hotel 168 

Central Courier 180 

Centennial Exercises, 1898, 

program . 283 

Centennial Committee of 1S98, 284 
Charter of Female College and 

Incorporators 177 

Charter, First, of Nicholas- 

ville 65-66 

Charter, Second, of Nicholas- 

ville S6-87 

Celebration, Fourth of 

July 100-103 

Cincinnati Railway, the 

old . . 154-155 

Civil War Officers from Jessa- 
mine County .... 136-137 
Civil War, 1861-1S65, Jessa- 
mine County in the 136-137 
Court of Quarter Sessions . 72-73 
Circuit Court, the First . . 74-75 
Commissioners' Report of the 

(i83i)Town Property ... 89 
Caldwell, William ... 120, 135 
County Judges under the Con- 
stitution of 3849 . . -78 
County Judges, early ones . 78 
Confederate Monument 137-138 
Commissioners' Report of 

Slaves, Tythes and Dogs . 89 91 
Confederate Dead . . . . 140 
Confederate Graves .... 139 
Confederate Monument at 

Nicholasvilie . . . 137-138 
Combs, Gen. I^eslie, inscrip- 
tion to . . 154 

Cook, Rev. Valentine, his 
anti-slavery views .... 173 

Cook, John B. 222 

Cook, Rev. Valentine ... 173 

Cook, Dawson 200 

Collins' History, Dr. Richard 

Henry 143 

Colored Baptist Church . . . 199 
Colored Christian Church . . 199 
Colored Baptist Church, pic- 
ture of 186 



PAGE. 

Colored Soldiers 137 

Colored Christian Church, 

picture of 193 

Chenowerth, Rev. Charles 

(1799) 197 

Crozer, David 197-198 

Christian Church of Nicholas- 
vilie 194 

Chrisman, George T. 118-119 

Chrisman, Gen Henry M. . 203 

Chrisman, Louis H 243 

Charloter, John W., the Blind 

Well Digger 169 

Chrisman, George T., letter 

of 117-119 

Chambers, B. S, letter of . . 27 
Churches— 

African Methodist .... 198 

Baptist, First 195 

Baptist, Mt. Pleasant ... 188 
Baptist Meeting House . . 78 

Colored Christian 199 

Colored Baptist 199 

Methodist Episcopal 

Church, North 194 

Methodist Episcopal 

Church, South 196 

Nicholasvilie Presbyterian 

Church . 190 

Christian Church 194 

Charter, the first of — county . 85 

Charter, the second 86 

Cherokee Indians 21-22 

Church Land 1S4 

Cincinnati PvUquirer, circula- 
tion suspended in 1863 . . 187 
Clark, Major James, letter to . 33 
Clerks of the Presbyterian 

Church 191 

Clear Creek Presbyterian 

Church 193 

Crockett, Capt. Robert, roll 

of his company in 1812 . 123-124 
Crockett, Robert, of Union 

Mills .161 

Crockett, Joseph B., Chief 
Justice of California . . . 230 

Crockett, Joseph 23-27 

Crozer, David, letter of . 197-198 



Hidonj of Jesmmine Gountij, Keniuclaj. 



pac;e. 
Crutcher, Benjamin A., Com- 
monwealth Attorney . . 167. 265 
Crutcher, Thomas B., Police 

Judge 266 

County Judge, W. H. Phillips 165 
Court House of Nicholasville, 

the old and new 164 

Curd, Lowry 277 

Curd, Robert 269 

Curiosities of JessamineCoun- 

ty 143-^45 

Corman, John 227 

Chaumiere, description . 314-316 
Contributors to History . . 9 
demons, Robert ..... 278 

Coger, Thomas T., 228 

Corn, Samuel T 283 

County, creation of ... . 61-62 

County, causes of 62 

County, legislative action 

in 63-64 

County, act creating ... 64 
County, act creating, amend- 
ment 66-67 

County, act creating name 

of .' 66-67 

Cawbey, John, 219 

Crozer, David 19S, 240 

demons, Robert, picture . . 278 

Daniel, Harrison, pioneer of 

1790, and legislator of 1826 . 271 
Davis, Gen. Jefferson C. • . 185 
Democrat, newspaper . . -.177 
Dedication of the Book ... 6 
Devil's Pulpit Rock in Jessa- 
mine 145-146 

Dogs, tax list of 1831 .... 91 
Dudley's Defeat, the story 

of iii-i 12 

Dudley, Gen. Peter 25 

Duncan, Hon. S. M., historian, 262 

Also 8 

Duncan, Jas. and Charles, 260-262 
Durrett, Col. R. T., historian 

Filson Club 7 

DeFoure. John Francis . . 55-57 

Davis, James R 231 

Deering, Charles 284 



PAGE. 

Early Things . . .45,46,53,163 

Early Houses in Jessamine 
county 53 

Early Manufacturers and Fac- 
tories 163 

Early Settlers of the county, 
list of 45-46 

Ebenezer Church, Presbyte- 
rian, 1785-1790 195 

Entertainment for Man and 
Beast 167 

Elders of the Presbyterian 
Church 191 

Elley, Elder George W. . . . 194 

Evans, Charles 257 

First Things 51-76 

Court 73-74 

Circuit Court 73-74 

Settlers 45 

Marriage 77 

Mill 51 

Civil Order 75 

Powder Mill 51 

Vineyard 55 

Will 76 

First child, Jos. Hunter . . . 42 
First Charter of Town . . . 85-86 

First Order 75-76 

First Court of Quarter Ses- 
sions 73-74 

First Vineyard 55 

First Will of Record . . . .76-77 

First Marriage 77 

First Baptist Meeting House, 78 
First Charter of Nicholas- 
ville . 85-86 

First Order in Civil Action . 75-76 
First Baptist Chvirch .... 195 
First Members of Ebenezer 

Church (Presbyterian) . . . 195 
First National Bank of Nicho- 
lasville, organization of . . 253 
First Bank of Nicholasville 

(in 1864) 260 

Fain, Wilson 279 

Fa3'ette Count3% Act for Di- 
vision of 66-67 



History of Jesmmine Cottntij, Kentucky. 



PAGE. 

Ferries of Jessamine County, 157 
Female Institute of Jessamine 

County 176 

Female College, the Incorpor- 
ators of, i860 ....... 176 

Finley.John 11-12 

Francis Phipps (see Phipps), 201 
Fayette County, enterprise of, 7 
Fearnought, the Race Horse 19-21 



Glass, John Henry 264 

Glass Mills 182 

Gordon, Prof. A. N. ... 140, 175 

Gordon, Rev. Neal 195 

Goodloe, Col. David (as a 

marksman) 251 

Gray, Captain Patrick, Com- 
pany Muster Rolls, War of 

1812 108 

Gray, Capt. Patrick's com- 
mand 108-109 

Graham, Dr. Christophus Co- 
lumbus, Geologist, the cen- 
tenarian 143 

Grand Jurors of the First 
Term of the New Court 

House 167 

Guerrant, Rev. Dr. E- O., Pres- 
byterian Pastor ... . 183 
German Settlers (the earl}'), 44-45 

Habersham, Hon. J., Postmas- 
ter General and letters 

of 82-84 

Hart, Kdtnond Emanuel . . 163 

Hart, Joseph 163 

Hanly, Major J. H 251 

Harris, Rev. Nathaniel (1799) 196 
Hamilton, Col. Alexander, 
letter from his regi- 
ment 201-203 

Harris, Rev. Nathaniel, sketch 209 
Hendricks, Rev. John T. . . 191 
Hanly, J. H., sketch of . . . 251 
Healy, the Painter, and Cliff 

Cottage 251 

Hemphill, James 263 

Hemphill, Andrew 263 



PAGE. 

Hemp Manufactures and 

Corn 158 

Hickman Creek, Bridge; 

mouth of, sketch of . 151-152 
High Bridge, Mouth of Dick's 

River, Ky I53-I54 

Hite, Abraham 42-48 

High Bridge, cantilever . 153-154 
Hotels and Landlords .... 167 
Horn, The Boat, poem . . . 40-41 
Hull, General, surrender of 

Detroit in 1813 125-126 

Hughes, Ross 224 

Hughes, Rev. J. W., president, 

etc 182 

Hopkins, Gen. Samuel . . 20-21 
Hunter; Jacob, John, Joseph, 

Samuel . . 42-44 

Hickman Creek 48 

Hightower, Capt. Richard . 123 

Hind, Rev. Thomas 172 

Holloway, John W 247-248 

Incorporators of Female Insti- 
tute, list of 176 

Indians, the last cliff lurk- 
ers 48-50 

Indian Wars, men in them 
before 1S12-1815 . . 103-104 

Industries of Nicholasville . 163 

Irwin, James, the last Revolu- 
tionary soldier 200 

Jackson's Cotton Factory . . 163 
Jessamine County, the for- 
mation of 61-64 

Jessamine Soldiers in the Bat- 
tle of the Thames . . . 120-121 

Jessamine Pastures 146 

Jessamine Creek, the tradi- 
tion of the name .... 14S-151 
Journal, Jessamine C ou n ty, 

newspaper 177 

Johnson, Col. Richard Men- 
tor 113-116 

Jessamine County, area of . 8 
Jessamine Blues and 
Grays 100, 108, in 



History of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 



PAGK. 

Jessamine Female Institute, 
sketch of . . . ... 176 

Jasper, Francis Marion . . . 240 
Jackman, Gen. vSaniuel Dick- 
erson 272 

Kavanaugh, Bishop Hubbard 
Hinde, see M. E. Church, 
South 197 

Keene Village .... 47, 187-18S 

Kentucky Beginnings . . . 7-8-9 

Kentuckians at River Raisin, 
the conduct of [35 

Kentucky River Improve- 
ments 155 

Kentuck}' River, ceded to tlie 
United States 155 

Kentucky Legislature, the 
Journals, Minutes, and Acts 
of, 1798-1799 63-66 

Lafayette, Gen. M 25 

Largest Corn Crop 15S 

Legislature, county members 

of 79 

Legislative Acts creating the 

County'of Jessamine . . . 64-65 
Lewis, Capt. Thomas, the roll 

of his company in 1812 . 124-125 
Lewis, Col. William A., sol- 
dier of 1812 .... 127-129, 279 
Lewis, Col. William A. ... 128 
Lewis, Thomas, donates site 

of Bethel Academy .... 171 
Lexington and Danville Rail- 
way 154 

Local Ministers of 1878 . 188-198 

Little Mountain 149-150 

Luke's, St., Catholic Church, 
the organization of . . . 193 

Lyne, G. W. 249 

Lexington, settlement of . . 7 
Leathers, General John H. . 139 

Lafon, John 245 

Lyne, George W 249 

Lowry, Curd 277 

Magistrates of the County at 
the Centennial of 1898 . . 278 



PACE. 

Magistrates of 1878 165 

Marshall, Dr. Alexander K., . 274 
Mammoth Rocks of Jessa- 
mine 145 

Mann, Dr. Charles, Surgeon 

C S. A., picture .... 139-140 
Maple Grove Cemetery . . . 168 
Massie, Peter, the Weeping 

Prophet, and John Clark . 169 
McCarty, Editor Henry, and 

Mr. Stears 179 

McAfee, Allen L., Mexican 

War Veteran 279 

McAfee, Andrew, colored 
councilman, picture . . . 281 

McKee, Col. W. R 201 

Meade, David 204 

Mexican War Soldiers and 
Veterans . . . 252-253, 234-236 

Metcalf, Henry . 242 

Metcalf, Rev. Jno., sketch, 79, 208 
Members of the State Senate, 49 
Members of the State House 

of Representatives .... 79 
Members of the Bar in 1878 . 165 
Metcalf, Rev. John, and Beth- 
el Academy 171 

Metcalf, Rev. John, letter to 

George Nicholas . ... 172 
Ministers and Elders of the 
Presbyterian Church of 

Nicholasville 191 

Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, 

history of 188-190 

McKinney, Col. John .... 204 
INIosel}', Col. John . . . . 205 

Mitchell, James Willard . . 275 
Miller, Major Anderson . 161 
Militia, order and drills . ■ 95-99 
Mingo Tavern, picture of . . 16 
Methodist Episcopal Church, 

North, picture 174 

McCalla, Gen. John 22 

Meade, Col. David . . 68, 215-218 
McLean, Nathaniel John . 81-S2 
McGrath, Terrence and 

Price 103-104 

Meaux, Mrs. Jane . . 190-191 

Mitchell, James Willard . . 275 



History of Jessamine Countij, Kentuchj. 



PAGE. 

Narrows of the Kentucky • • 149 
Netherland, Major B., letter 

of 49-50 

Netherland, Major Benjamin, 

letter to 1 19-120 

Netherland, Major B., letters 

about postoflfice ... S3-84 
Netherland, Major B., letter 

of 28-29 

Netherland, Benjamin . . . 15-25 
Netherland, John, letter 

of 1 19-120 

New Court, Wm. T. Barry, 

Chief Justice of the State . 207 
Newspapers, the two mod- 
ern 178-179 

Nicholasville, the location 

of 79-S2 

Nicholasville andHanly, Wil- 
more, Keene,Nealton, Bran- 
non, Logan, Ambrose, Lit- 
tle Hickman, East Hick- 
man, Centennial Commit- 
tees of 284-285 

Nichols, Hon. George . 79, 92-94 
Negro Slaves, list of, 1831 . . 90 

Negro Councilman 281 

Nicholas, Hon. George, 

sketch 92-94 

Nicholasville Beginnings . . 161 
Northern Methodist Church, 

picture 174 

Northern Methodist Episco- 
pal Church, pastor. Rev. V. 

T. Willis 194 

Noland, Rev. Stephen . . . 259 
Noland, Wilmore & Co., bank- 
ers 260 

Names of those who settled in 
other parts of Jessamine from 1782 
to the close of the century : Thos/ 
Adams; Benj. Blackford; Wm. 
Bowman ; Jacob Bruner ; Archi- 
bald Bristow ; Benj. Caldwell ; 
Abraham Cassell ; Col. Jos. Crock- 
ett; Robt. Campbell; Jonas Da- 
venport ; Jeremiah Dickerson ; 
Chas. Duncan; James Duncan; 
Wni. Fletcher; Abraham Howser; 



Jacob Howser ; Rev. Jno. Hudson ; 
Rev. Nathaniel Harris; Jno. John- 
son ; Jeremiah King; James Mc- 
Kinney; John Lewis; Francis 
Lowers ; Jno. Lowry ; Chris. Ma- 
son ; Elder Michael Rice ; Daniel 
Mitchell ; Wm. Moss ; James Mc- 
Cabe ; Major B. Netherland : 
James Overstreet ; Thomas Over- 
street; Fielding Pilcher ; Shad- 
rach Pilcher; Col. Byrd Prewitt ; 
Col. Jno. Price; Col. Wm. Price; 
Samuel Rice ; Jacob Rice ; Thom- 
as Rowland ; Jacob Rhorer; Jacob 
Sedowski ; John Two Nine Scott ; 
Robt. Shanklin; Thos. Shanklin ; 
Manoah Singleton ; Jno. Todd ; 
Jno. Thornton ; David Watson, 
Sr.; Col. Geo. Walker; Patrick 
Watson ; John Welch ; Minor 
Youns:. 



Old Presbyterian, George 

Brown 272 

Old Times and Things .... 7-9 
Old Scenes, see illustrations. 



Parish, Editor J. M 177 

Patriotic Celebration, Fourth 

of July 100-102 

Patterson, Col. Robert ... 17 
Peter, Simpson, see S. . . 204 
Pioneers of Kentucky, charac- 
ter of 59-61 

Pioneer Hotel, prices .... 167 
Pioneer Struggles and Hard- 
ships 59-60 

Pilcher, Thomas Fielding, ed- 
itor 180 

Phipps, Thomas 201 

Proctor, British General . . 115 
Postmasters of Nicholasville, 164 

Powder Mill 151 

Population, increase of . . . 14 

Preface 7 

Price, Capt. Thomas, com- 
pany muster roll, War of 
1812 108 



Hintorij of Je.^samine Countij, Kentucky. 



PACE. 

Price, Major Daniel B. . . . 26 

Price, John 3°~3i 

Price, William 31-33 

Price, John, letter of, on the 

county formation .... 68-69 
Price, Gen. Samuel Wood- 
son 232-234 

Price, Capt. James, company 
roll, War of 1812 . . .108-110 

Price, Kliber F 131 

Price, James C, company of, 

letter of loS, 131-133 

Price, Susanna, letter to . 131-132 
Price, Mary, letter to . . 132-135 
Price, Major Daniel B. . . 212 
Price, Major Daniel B., pic- 
ture 213 

Price, Rev. Branch, principal, 176 
Price, Mrs. Jacob . . ... 176 
Poythress, Rev. Francis • . 171 
Public W'ell, stories of the 

unfailing 168 

Phillips, Judge William H. . 273 
Phipps, Francis, surveyor, 201-202 
Presbyterian Church of 1820, 

pastors and elders .... 190 
Presbyterian Church of Nich- 

olasville 162 

Prolific of Statesmen . . 224-225 
Program Jessamine Count}- 
and Nicholasville Centen- 
nial, 1 798-1 898 285 

Poythress, Rev. Francis and 

Bethel Academy • . 171 
Patterson, Robert .... 17 
Proctor, Gen. Henry A. (Brit- 
ish) 113, 116-117 



Quarter Sessions, Judges of, 72-73 
Quarter Sessions, courts of, 72-73 



Randolph, Rev. John C., let- 
ter of — he enlisted first ne- 
gro soldiers 185-1S6 

Ranklin, Rev. Adam, 1785-1790, 195 
Report of Commissioners on 
town property in 183 t . . 89 



PAGE. 

River Raisin, battle 

of . . 125-126, 12S-129, 131-132 
Raisin, the battle of, same. 
Roebling, John A, engineer, 154 
Ruins of Bethel on the Ken- 
tucky 175 

Revival of 1843 and its preach- 
ers 197 

Ridgely, Commodore Daniel 

Boone 205 

Romantic Story 223 

Robert demons, sketch —see 

demons, C 278 

Robinson, Allen W 279 

Revolutionary Soldiers ... 14 

Rhorer, Jacob 44 

Rice, Fisher 72, 84 

Robinson, Jacob Creath . . . 235 



04, 108- 



Saegerser IMill Co. . 
Savage, Rev. E. S. . 
Sawyer, Rev. J. A. . 
Saunders, Letcher 
Saunders, C. B. . 
Scott, Hon. Thomas J 
Soldiers of 1812 . . . 
Shely, Elizabeth McAfee . . 
Settlers, Early, of the County, 

see names to 1800 

Singleton, Capt. Mason— 1812 
Scenery in Jessamine County, 

description of 143- 

Simpson, Peter 

Singleton, Jeremiah, his will, 
Shelby, Gen. James— 1840 . 
Shelby, Governor Isaac . . . 
Singleton, Otho R., M. C . 

Singleton, Manoali 

Smith, Prof. Rev. George 

Stokes 189, 

Smith, Gen. E. Kirby .... 
Soldiers of 1812-1815 . . . • 
Stone Mill of Keene, picture, 
St. Luke's Catholic Church, 

organization 

Simpson, Peter 

Smith, Rev. Geo. Stokes . . 
Smith, John Speed 



182 
184 
184 
248 
248 

258 
-III 
280 

45 
121 

-144 
204 

149 
14 
34 

226 

1 88 

256 

139 
104 

188 

193 
204 
256 
205 



History of Jesmmine Counti/, Kentiickij. 



Sterling, Larly 224 

Shanklin, George S 225 

Sparks, Hon. E. R. . . 254 

Sulphur Well, the village of . 181 



Taxable Propert)' of the Town, 

1S31 91 

Taylor, George B., Centennial 

Marshal, picture . 284 
Taylor, George B., Chief Mar- 
shal 284 

Thames, the battle of . 113-119 
Tythes, list of the payers, 

1 83 1 90-91 

Transylvania University and 
Colony ....... 12 

Todd, Levi Luther . . . 269-270 

Todd, Levi 13 

Trisler, Peter . . . 44-45, 219-221 
The Great Hemp Center, or 

the counties of . . .160 

Trustees of Bethel Academy 

in 1798 173 

Troy Presbyterian Church in 

1870-1898 . 196 

Turnpikes, how built, now 

free 157 

Todd Station 13, 47-48 

Talbott, A. G 239 

Union Mills, picture . . . 98-99 

Virginia Pioneers 7-8-9 

Volunteers in 1812, rollsof the 
Gray and Price companies . 108 



PAGE. 

Watson, Rev. Charles, or- 
dained by Bishop Asbury . 169 

Watts, Rev. T. W 197 

Wallace, Capt. John .... 223 
Welch, Rev. Thomas R., D.D. 250 

Wernwag, Louis D 153 

Welch, John Harrison, Master 

Commissioner 255 

Well, the Public 168 

Welch, Dr. Thomas R., 251, 270 271 

Welch. Dr. John C 271 

Welch, Hon. Wm. R 283 

Wliatcoat, Bishop Richard, 
and the 5,000 acres land 

grant 169 

White, William W 249 

Whitley, William . . . .116, 142 
White, Elder William . ... 249 
White, Capt. James, the com- 
pany of 142 

Winchester, General .... 128 

Wiliis.John A 252 

Willis, Capt. W. T 234 

Williamson, Rev. Thomas, 

1789 197 

Wilderness Road, the .... 13 

Wilmore, Village of iSi 

Wilmore, Business of ... . 182 
W^oodson, Tucker, of Chau- 

miere, in 1804 213-214 

Woodson, Samuel H. . 72-73, 84 
Woodson, Samuel H., 

Sr., 216-21S 

Woodson, S. H., Sr., stepson 

of Col. James Crockett, 2 10-2 11 
Woodson, Miss Jessie Doug- 
las, romantic story of, 146-147 
Wilderness Road 13 



Walker, George .... 14, 35-36 

Wallace, Joseph 22 

Wake, Alexander, first county 

judge 222 

Watkins, Joel, diary of, 1783, 46-47 
Walker, Dr. Thomas, 1750 . . ir 

Walker, Edmund 190 

Walker, George . . . . 14, 35, 36 
W^ar of 1812-1815; causes of, 

men in it . 45,103-107, 120-123 



Young, Josephine .... 237-239 
Young, Elder Rob't, sketch, 5, 253 
Young, Elder Robert, dedica- 
tion 2 

Young, Melanchthon, sketch, 160 
Young, Col. Bennett Hender- 
son, frontispiece and title, i 
Young, B. H., preface .... 7 



Hldofij of Je^mmlne Cotmty, Kentucky. 



PAGE. 

Young, Col. Bennett H., 
speech at the Confederate 
monument unveiling . . 140-142 

Young, Col. Bennett H., 
speech at the Centennial of 
1898 154 



PAGE. 

Young, Col. Bennett H., the 

High Bridge 

Young's Bridge, etc. . . . 154 
Yoiing, Daniel P. . . 244-245 

Zimmerman, Frederick, sur- 
veyor 84, 201 

Zeisberger, David .... 44 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE. 

Adcock, Adam 282 

Ancient Paper Mill at Glass 

Mills 52 

Arnett, Chairman B. M., Cen- 
tennial 283 

Adcock, Aton Adam .... 282 

Burial Place of Col. William 

Price 118 

Brown, Geo 159 

Bronaugh, John Spears . . . 266 

Brown, Thomas J 268 

Baptist CI -irch 156 

Baptist Church, Colored . . 186 

Butler, Wm. O . So 

Catholic Church of Nicholas- 

ville . . 166 

Churches- - 

Catholic Church 166 

Christian Church ... 134 

Christian Church, Colored . 192 

Colored Methodist ... 178 

INIethodist, North .... 174 

IMethodist, vSouth ... 144 

Presbyterian 162 

Mt. Pleasant ••.... 170 

Colored Methodist Church . 178 
Christian Church, Nicholas- 

viile 134 

Cook. B. T 282 

Court House at Nicholasville. 126 

Confederate Monument . . . 138 

Cook, Hon. B. L 280 

Crutcher, Benjamin A. . . . 265 



PAGE. 

Curd, Lowry 277 

Curd, Robert 269 

demons, Robert 278 



Deering, Charles 
Duncan, Hon. S. M. 



284 
262 



Ebenezer Presbyterian 

Church J02 

Evans, Charles 257 

Frontispiece, Col. Bennett 
H. Young I 

Glass, Henry 182 

Holloway, Dr. John W. . . . 248 

Hughes, Hon. J. D 282 

Hickman Bridge 122 

High Bridge 130 

Jessamine Creek Head . . . 106 
Jessamine Female Institute 150 

Mann, Dr. Charles . . 139 

McCarty. Henry . . . 179-180 
Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church . 170 
Methodist Episcopal Church, 

South 144 

McAfee. Andrew, colored . . 281 
Mitchell, Hon C S. . . 282 

MilitiaOrders, fac-simile, 1832, 96 
Mitchell, James Willard 275 

Mingo Tavern ... . . 16 



Hixtory of Jessamine County, Kentucky. 



PAGE. 

Nicholasville Baptist Colored 
Church 156 

Old Stone Mill at Keene . . 115 

Paper Mill 52 

Pioneer Cabin 54 

Pioneer's Dress 43 

Presbyterian Church .... 162 

Price, Wni., burial place . . 118 

Pilcher, Louis 179 

Phillips, Judge Wm. H. . . . 273 



Robinson, Judge Allen W. 



279 



vSaunders Letcher ...... 248 

vStears, J. B. 179-180 

Stone House at Union Mills . 56 

Stone Mill 114 

Smith, Rev. George Stokes . 256 

Smith, Frank D 282 

Steele, Mayor W. J 282 

Sparks, Hon. E. R 254 



Union Mills at Hickman creek 98 

Welsh, Dr. T. R 270 

Wooden Kentucky River 
Bridge — Hickman .... 122 

Woodson, Samuel H 211 

Woodson, Tucker 214 

Willis, John A 252 

Young, Melanchthon .... 160 

Young, Robert . 238 

Young, Josephine, double 
picture 238 

Mitchell. C. S., 
Steele, W. J., 
Smith, Frank D., 
Hughes, J. D., 
Cook, B. T., 
Adcock, Adam, 

Composite picture .... 2S2 



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